Iron Whirlpools
by Okami59
Summary: His father was a samurai, noble and pure, his mother a shinobi, ruthless and cunning. He inherited all their traits but only he can decide what he will be: Shinobi or Samurai. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, and this is his story. A story where in a twist of fate, Kushina isn't the Kyuubi jinshuriki. Instead, after Uzu's destrution she settles down in Tetsu no Kuni and has Naruto.
1. Chapter 1: Falling Leaves

AN: Okay! So this is my very first fanfiction and I hope you all like it.

Summary: Naruto is the son of Kushina along with a samurai from Tetsu no Kuni. He learns what it means to be both a samurai and shinobi. Eventually he settles down in Konoha and becomes a Leaf Ninja.

Everyone is still the same age from cannon and even though this story is listed as AU this first chapter will more or less follow cannon.

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 _ **'Rasengan!'**_ \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

-these are line breaks/scene changes

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Now on with the story!

* * *

[Hi no Kuni, October 10th]

The air was cold that evening, unusually so for the Land of Fire. It was a clear night, not a cloud to be seen for miles and routine chῡnin patrols from the village hidden in the leaves kept a vigilant watch, like sentries, creating a sense of security among the populace. Yet even so, there was an unnatural stillness permeating throughout the woods surrounding Konohagakure, one that seemed to halt even the twinkling of the stars. It was like a great calm before a storm, and when this force of nature hit, it would hit with unparalleled force, one that even the shinobi forces of Konoha would not be able to weather without great loss. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, a being of pure chakra and malice, the strongest of all the bijuu, the king of demons, the crusher of mountains, the creator of tsunamis, had arrived. It came suddenly and was what the ninja of the hidden leaf faced that night. They did so valiantly, casting jutsu after jutsu at the monster, but to no avail. They were little more than pests to the giant fox as it approached their beloved home...

High atop the trees one last team of Anbu stood and faced the demon fox. They had already lost dozens of chῡnin squads, who had been out on patrols that night, as well as 3 whole Anbu cells in an attempt to subdue the beast. At this point they had resigned themselves to their fate and were bravely dredging up the last of their strength for one last attack. **"Suiton: Bakusui Shoha (Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave)!"** called out a bear masked Anbu as he spat out an ungodly amount of water at the rampaging bijuu, and his partners were quick to call out their own attacks.

 **"Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!"**

 **"Raiton: Raiton Sutorimu no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning stream)!"**

Said the monkey and boar masked Anbus respectively. The three jutsus combined together forming a violent deluge of lightning charged water, with an added speed boost from monkey's wind technique. Against any other opponent the combination would have proved fatal as it generated enough force to level an entire section of the forest. However, against the Kyuubi it was barely enough to push the bijuu back 30 yards.

"This is hopeless! We've tried everything from raiton to fuuton and nothing has any effect on the damn beast past annoying it." Said boar.

"I know. Fortunately, we don't have to defeat it by ourselves. Crane should have reached the village by now and so we only need to hold out till reinforcements arrive," replied bear.

Just then the Kyuubi seemed to have enough of the pesky humans and retaliated with extreme prejudice. Letting out a mighty chakra laced roar it sent the Anbu trio flying backwards into the air before crashing into the trees. Boar had sensed the buildup of chakra within the beast and was able to perform a midair backflip before pushing off a tree and landing roughly onto the ground. His teammates, however, were not as lucky. Bear was thrown through the air like a ragdoll and crashed headfirst into a tree trunk, crumpling at the neck and cracking his head open. The Anbu's body fell to the base of the tree in a bloody and disfigured heap. Monkey suffered a similar fate only he was impaled by a branch and died in agony as blood slowly filled his lungs. Seeing the state of his two comrades, pained boar and enraged him all at once, but he wouldn't crack. He was a professional and he had a job to do. Mustering up what little chakra he had and directing it to his limbs, boar jump up to the top of the nearest tree and used it as a springboard to get to the Kyuubi. Behind him were two trails of explosive notes each tied to a string of which he held one in each hand. The attack was a desperate suicide attack as he had no more chakra and in the end was doomed to die anyway. Still he preferred this to dying without a struggle. He was a shinobi for kami's sake. And as boar flew at the Kyuubi's snout and the moment of his death came nearer, a thought rang clearly through his mind, _'For Konoha... KATSU!'_

And with that the black ops agent went up in a torrent of fire hitting the Kyuubi on the left side of its face with the combined force of 48 explosive notes. Grunting in annoyance the tailed beast continued on its course to the village before it was suddenly forced back several miles by a stiff expanding staff. The staff was in fact a summon which belonged to Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. Standing on the walls of Konoha alongside him was his student, Jiraiya the Toad Sage. The two were an imposing duo, with Hiruzen dressed in his battle armor and Jiraiya in a short green kimono and red haori. Their faces were grim with a touch of trepidation in the face of a bijuu. A crane masked Anbu, who had been part of the initial responders suddenly appeared next to Hiruzen.

"Lord Third, as you can see, the Nine Tails is steadily approaching the village, and we have been unable to halt or even slow its advance. There are no survivors from those initially sent apart from myself. What are your orders?" Crane asked in a quick crisp voice conveying nothing but professionalism.

"The Yondaime has informed me that he is preparing a sealing ritual to contain the Nine Tails. But he needs more time. So for now our objective is to stall and keep the Kyuubi from damaging the village. I along with Jiraiya will keep the fox at a distance. Have our people assist wherever and whenever they see an opening, but be careful and don't get too close. We've lost too many already," replied the aged leader.

"It shall be done Lord Third," replied crane before giving a salute and heading off to relay Hiruzen's orders to his comrades.

* * *

As the battle raged on in the forest, complete and utter pandemonium ravaged the village of Konoha itself. The cries and panicked shouting of villagers drowned out the voices of shinobi attempting to reestablish order. It had started out in a hurried walk to the evacuation shelters but when the Kyuubi had let out its roar all bets had been off, and suddenly it was every man for himself. In a matter of seconds, the calm masses filing out of houses and stores became a panicked mob, pushing and shoving, running and jumping, their way to the nearest shelter. Many lives were literally stamped out that night as all the citizens who tripped and fell were trampled under the mob's feet.

In the midst of all the chaos a man was found jumping along the rooftops. He had a fair complexion, bright blonde hair, and donned a leaf headband along with a white cloak with flames adorning its edges. On the back of the cloak was the kanji for fire. Strangely, he was carrying a small bundle in his arms and was running in the opposite direction of the crowd towards where the Kyuubi no Kitsune could be seen gleaming an eerie red glow against the night. The man's name was Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure.

Upon arriving on the village wall he was greeted by his Anbu commander, Hiruzen and Jiraiya. "Hokage-sama, thank kami you're here. We weren't sure how much longer we would be able to hold out even with both Sandaime-sama and Jiraiya-sama helping us," said the Anbu commander Badger.

Before Minato could reply, Jiraiya added, "We've barely been skimming by and our shinobi are dying by the dozens."

Closing his eyes at hearing how so many of his troops died and are still dying, Minato took a deep breath before saying, "Very well. Badger, tell everyone to disengage and create a perimeter in front of the village."

Badger saluted and said, "Hai."

As Badger shunshined off, Hiruzen noticed the bundle of cloths Minato was carrying and asked in a soft voice full of concern, "Minato, why did you bring a child here of all places?" In reply Minato looked at his predecessor grimly, and suddenly Hiruzen knew.

Motioning to the bundle of cloths, Minato said, "This is my daughter Kumiko Hiruzen-dono, and I don't think I need to tell you, the legendary 'Professor', why I brought her here."

"But Minato, your own daughter!? How can you do-" Hiruzen exclaimed only to be cut off by Minato.

"What else am I supposed to do?" Minato shouted back before softly adding, "If I can't offer my own child up as the sacrifice, then how could I ever ask for another family's to stand in her place?"

"What about Akane? What does she say about this?" inquired Jiraiya.

At the mention of his wife a pained expression appeared on Minato's face. "She's dying sensei. Giving birth to Kumiko left her weakened and so when her seal broke the strain of the Kyuubi escaping was too much. She's at a small clearing near the outskirts of the village waiting to help seal the Kyuubi into Kumiko."

"She agreed?" Jiraiya said disbelievingly.

"It took some convincing but yes Akane agreed. It's... for the best and we trust that our Kumiko will one day be able to control the Kyuubi and protect Konoha with it," replied Minato.

Closing his eyes in acceptance Hiruzen gripped onto Enma in his staff form and prepared himself. "Very well, Jiraiya and I can help get the Kyuubi to that clearing but we won't be able to keep it there long enough for you to finish the sealing."

"That's okay Hiruzen, once the Nine Tails is there, me and Akane should be able to handle it," said Minato.

"Alright, let's get to it then," Jiraiya said with a determined voice.

* * *

As their leaders were discussing all of this, the shinobi of Konohagakure were steadily falling back to the village wall. However, as they did so the Kyuubi no Kitsune hunched over with its jaws wide open. In between its jaws blue and red chakra suddenly began coalescing into a dark purple ball. It kept growing larger and larger as the bijuu continued to add more chakra to it. As the amount of chakra kept increasing, some of the retreating shinobi turned to see what was happening; they were left standing still in both shock and awe at the power the mightiest of the bijuu was displaying. Their gaping was cut short when the Kyuubi released the **Imari (Tailed Beast Bomb)** right at them, but before it could hit a shout was heard.

 **"Hiraishin: Dōrai (Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder)!"** as the jutsu was called a wide seal array instantly appeared in front of the Imari and transported it to an area of the forest miles away from Konoha effectively neutralizing the attack. The Kyuubi snarled at witnessing its most destructive move countered and was just about to try again when for the second time that night a black bo staff with brown tips hit its chest. The staff then extended pushing the giant fox back.

 **"Henge: Kongōnyoi (Transformation: Adamantine Staff),"** came the calm voice of Sarutobi Hiruzen

Not one to be left behind, Jiraiya flipped down from the wall before performing his own summoning. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)."** In a puff of smoke, a giant red skinned toad wearing a blue vest appeared. Gamabunta, the toad boss summon, had arrived. **"Jiraiya why have you summoned me?"** demanded Gamabunta. However, before Jiraiya could respond the Kyuubi let loose a loud roar. Turning to find itself facing the Kyuubi no Kitsune Gamabunta said, **"Never mind, I think I know why."**

Jumping up next to Jiraiya, Minato addressed the duo, "Bunta I'm glad you're here. I need you to hold the Kyuubi down long enough for me to use the **Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God)** to transport it to where its sealing will take place."

 **"Alright Minato, but be quick about it, I won't be able to restrain the Nine Tails for long,"** replied Gamabunta.

In reply Jiraiya said, "Don't worry Bunta, I'll help as well and between the two of us we should be able to last long enough for Minato to perform his technique."

Nodding, Gamabunta began to approach the Kyuubi with his two summoners on top of his head. As the trio neared Jiraya jumped down from Bunta before performing a quick series of hand seals and slamming his hands on the ground. **"Doton: Yomi Numa (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld),"** proclaimed Jiraiya. A deep dark pit of mud started forming underneath and around the Kyuubi, leaving the beast chest deep in the thick mud. Meanwhile in conjunction with Jiraya's attack Gamabunta jumped over the giant swamp and landed on the Kyuubi's back, effectively pushing it further into the mud and immobilizing it.

Not wanting to waste time, the Yondaime started gathering chakra and prepared to transport the bijuu away. He jumped down from Gamabunta's head and reached out to the Kyuubi's caustic chakra fur. In a flash, the pair was gone, and Gamabunta quickly returned to Mount Myōboku before he fell into Jiraiya's jutsu.

"Good luck Minato," whispered Jiraiya into the night.

* * *

Minato and the Kyuubi materialized in the middle of an oval shaped clearing in the forest. Around them were small rolling hills and beyond those was the line of trees marking off the forest. In the center of it all was a small throne on which a baby could lay comfortably in. Surrounding the throne was a ring made of kanji written in blood. It had even more symbols branching out in straight lines towards 8 lit torches. Next to the ensemble sat Uzumaki Akane. She had blood that she used to prepare the seals dripping out from her palms. Her flowing red hair was a disheveled mess and her usual fair complexion was a deathly white. At that moment simply put she was weak, but upon seeing the arrival of her husband and child along with the Nine Tails, she stood up and a determined edge came about her.

"AKANE-CHAN, NOW!" yelled Minato.

Nodding, Akane called out, **"Hijutsu: Kongō Fūsa (Secret Art: Adamantine Sealing Chains)"** and with that gold like chains sprouted from Akane's back and expanded out forming a dome over the clearing. Blue whisps of chakra could be seen woven where the chains had gaps in between them. Two more additional chains came out of her hands (one in each palm) which lunged forward towards the Kyῡbi wrapping around its tails then back around its torso and paws before ending on the beast's neck like a collar. By now Minato had jumped off the Kyῡbi's back and placed Kumiko on the sealing altar, seeing all this happen the Kyῡbi realized what the two were trying to do and lashed out against the chains with all its might.

 **"NO! I refuse to be sealed again. And especially into such a pitiful child!"** screamed the Kyῡbi, and with that the bijuu struggled even more against its chains.

"ARGHH!" Akane gritted in pain and exhaustion. It was almost enough to make her lose control when a pair of hands made their way onto her back and she felt a surge of chakra flow through her and reinforce the technique. She looked back and saw Minato who had tears forming in his eyes.

"You don't have to do this alone Akane-koi," said the loving voice of her husband as he gave her his chakra.

"Thank you, Minato-kun," Akane replied with a sniffle in between knowing that as the seconds ticked by she slipped further away from her beloved and closer to the arms of the Shinigami.

The moment was cut short, however, when they saw that the Kyῡbi had managed to free one of its front paws. The fox, seeking to prevent its sealing, lunged at Kumiko with its paw intending to impale the child. But before the bijuu could do so, Akane and Minato appeared in front of the baby, shielding their daughter with their own bodies.

"Urk..." groaned the both of them. One of the Kyῡbi's claws had shot itself through their bodies before stopping a few mere inches away from touching their child.

 _'I'll need to seal it now while I still have the strength.'_ thought Minato as he placed his hands into a hand seal. _'But the Kyῡbi's chakra is larger than I thought it'd be, too large to seal into an infant. I'll need to cut it in half and seal the other half into something else. The Reaper Death Seal. It's my only option right now. Anything else would require more preparation, not to mention another vessel. It has to be the Reaper Death Seal'_ With his mind made up Minato folded his hands together into the hand seal to summon the Shinigami. Suddenly, Akane felt a cold chill behind her, and heard Minato call out the name of his jutsu.

 **"Fῡinjutsu: Shiki Fūjin (Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal)!"**

Her eyes widened recognizing the technique. "Minato, why? You'll be doomed to a fate that has no rest. You'll be trapped within the Shinigami itself, fighting the Kyῡbi. . . forever," she said with worry.

"Because Akane-chan, it is physically impossible to seal all of the Kyῡbi's chakra into an infant, and we don't have another vessel or ritual prepared to help with that problem. The **Shiki Fῡjin** is the only way I know how to solve this. Please understand. It is my choice to do this, as the Hokage I'd give up my life to protect this village but more than that I'm doing this for Kumiko, as her father."

Not trusting herself to not breakdown and risk the Kyῡbi getting free from her chains further, Akane nodded numbly in understanding.

With that the Shinigami thrust its hand through Minato and grabbed onto the Kyῡbi dragging out its yin half and sealing the chakra inside itself. With the sealing finished Minato turned his attention to the second sealing he would perform, but before doing so he turned to Akane and said,"I guess this is the end huh Akane-chan. *cough* It'll be a while before we see Kumiko again."

Tearfully Akane responded, "Yes, my only wish is that I could have allowed to see her grow up, held her for even just a little bit longer, told her," Akane's voice hitched before continuing, " . . . There's so much I want to say to her Minato, so much."

"There's still time to . . . tell her. And I can seal a portion of our own chakra into the seal. That way in time you'll be able to see our daughter again. It's . . . the most I can do. I'm sorry, I was too weak. If only I had been stronger, the seal wouldn't have broke after you gave birth to Kumiko. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Minato said as tears streamed down his face.

"It's okay Minato. It's all in the past," said Akane.

Nodding Minato gathered Akane's chakra, his own, and finally the yang half of the Kyῡbi and placed his hands into the form of torii and said, **"Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Seal)."**

As the sealing commenced the central ring of seals began spinning dragging the other 8 lines of symbols with it, forming a spiral, before condensing onto Kumiko's stomach. The Kyῡbi roared as it felt itself being sealed but could do nothing about it.

"Kumiko. . . yourmother/father loves you," said the two before falling to the ground with a dull thump, and it was there that Minato and Akane, holding onto each other, died.

* * *

AN: Aaaaannnd that's a wrap. I know its a slow build up and that I haven't introduced how Naruto fits into this but I promise he will eventually be incorporated into the story. I just wanted to set the stage with this chapter and felt that the Kyubi's rampage was a good place to do that.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and please please read and review. Any critiques you have to offer is welcomed.


	2. Chapter 2: Happy Birthday Naruto!

AN: OKAY! Here it is the next chapter of Iron Whirlpools. It's shorter than the first but it's decent if I do say so myself. I hope you all like it.

Also if anyone would be interested in beta-ing my chapter that'd be great! Just send me a message and we can hash things out.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Anyways onto the story!

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

\- these are line breaks/scene changes

Chapter 2

[Tetsu no Kuni, the evening of October 10th]

On the same night that the Kyῡbi attacked Konoha, in the snowy land of Tetsu no Kuni was another couple expecting a child of their own. Their names were Uzumaki Kushina and Takahashi Keiji. Kushina was about the same age as Akane and had long flowing red hair like her. Kushina also had fair skin, soft violet eyes, and even in a hospital gown you could tell she looked beautiful. Keiji in contrast was a few years older than Kushina, had short black hair, brown eyes, and was in a short dark brown kimono and black pants.

"Push Kushina, push," urged Keiji.

Grabbing onto Keiji with a death grip Kushina let out another cry of pain before saying, "I am pushing you bastard, but, AHHH, it hurts."

"I know, but you're almost there Kushi-koi, just a little more and," suddenly the wailing of a child could be heard throughout the room as a newborn baby boy entered the world. After that the midwives took care of the rest and brought a small red-haired boy over to Kushina and Keiji.

"It's a boy! Congratulations on becoming parents you two!" exclaimed a smiling midwife.

"Have you decided on a name for him?" asked another.

"Yes, I have. Naruto. His name is Naruto," was Kushina's response.

Just then a man garbed in standard samurai armor barged into the hospital room. He had his helmet off revealing short brown hair and a scar that ran directly down his forehead all the way to the middle of his cheek. There was a frantic air about him as he approached Keiji.

"Tatewaki, why are you here? Has something happened?" asked Keji. He and Tatewaki were close friends. But seeing Tatewaki in such a hurry Keiji decided to forego their usual banter and got right to the point.

"It's the Daimyo-sama," said Tatewaki.

"What about him? He can't be here already. He's travelling from the capitol and shouldn't arrive for another day at the least."

Shaking his head Tatewaki said, "No he's here along with his entourage and a portion of the platoon we sent to escort him. Though that's not what has us worried. We spoke with some of his guards. Keiji, they were attacked by Sanshōuo no Hanzo. That's why they arrived so quickly. Reports say that Mifune decided to try and hold Hanzo off while the others left to get reinforcements."

"Then let's go we don't have much time," replied Keiji. Turning to his wife and child Keiji gave them both a kiss before saying, "I have to go Kushi-koi. Take care of Naru-chan for me okay?"

"Alright, but be careful and come back home safe," said Kushina worriedly.

And with that Keiji ran off to get suited up along with Tatewaki.

* * *

[The next morning]

A soft voice filled Kushina's hospital room as she gently hummed Naruto to sleep. A small smile graced her lips as she held her baby. She was a mother now and the thought brought a warm feeling to her heart. It had been such a long time since she had felt this way, not since Uzu's destruction. Even the times with Keiji were tainted by that event. The man was good to her and she loved him very much, but even so every time Kushina saw him in his samurai garb it reminded her that she was in Tetsu no Kuni and that her homeland and family were all gone. Now though, with Naruto, their family truly was complete and the familiar pain of Uzu's loss was gone replaced by love for her son.

Her pondering was cut short when the door to her room opened and 3 official looking men decked out in crisp grey uniforms entered. Seeing them made all the warm feelings she had turn deathly cold. She recognized these men. They were Keiji's superior officer's and the fact that these three were here and not her husband meant that . . .

"Uzumaki-san, we regret to inform you-" started the lead officer and with that Kushina had to bite down on her hand to keep from sobbing, "-that your husband, Takahashi Keiji, was killed in action last night in an engagement against Sanshōuo no Hanzō. We are sorry for your loss."

Trying to console the red head, the man on the right, Nanami, said, "Kushina, he was a brave and loyal soldier. He did his duty and stayed even in the face of Hanzō while others ran away in fear. Please don't cry. Instead be proud of him for that. I know we are."

"I know, and I am. I just . . . I've lost so many of my loved ones Nanami. *sobs* when will it end?" cried Kushina.

"I don't know Kushina, but you aren't alone in this. Keiji was a dear friend and if you ever need anything. Anything at all, just tell me and I promise to do all I can for you," replied Nanami.

"Thank you," Kushina said softly.

With that the officers left her room and continued to the other families who had also lost loved ones.

* * *

A few days later Kushina held Naruto in her hands as snow fell all around them. Winter had come early this year and the ground was covered in a thin layer of ice. They were standing in the middle of a cemetery in front of her husband's freshly dug grave. The two were the only ones left, everyone else who had attended Keiji's funeral had already gone home.

The wind picked up and Kushina felt a chill run through her and Naruto. The babe cried a little due to the cold and Kushina pulled him into her coat to keep him warm. Just then Mifune walked up next to the two of them holding a thick wool blanket.

"Here take this, it's getting colder and Naruto might catch something," said Mifune offering her the blanket.

Reaching out and wrapping Naruto up into it Kushina gave her thanks to the man.

Turning towards the grave Mifune said, "You know I owe your husband my life. Without him I would probably have been killed by Hanzō."

Not acknowledging what Mifune was say, Kushina said in a soft voice, "They say he died honorably. Defending his comrades, but you know I was never told the whole story. Will you?"

With a somber sigh Mifune began to tell her what happened.

 _"HHHYYAA!" yelled Mifune as he went in for a slash only to be blocked by Hanzō's kusarigama. He attempted to follow through his attack with a vertical swipe of his sword but Hanzō flipped backwards dodging his attack before sending his sickle shaped blade flying at Mifune. Not expecting such a maneuver Mifune was unable to dodge or block the attack when suddenly Keiji jumped in front of him blocking the blade with his katana. However, given the kusarigama's shape it still managed to cut deeply into Keiji's left shoulder._

 _Pushing Hanzō's weapon off him Keiji grabbed onto his wound in pain. 'Arg, my arm. It feels like all of my nerves are on fire.' Realizing what this meant, Keiji cursed internally as he was forced to a knee due to the pain. 'Damnit that thing must be poisoned. 'He thought gazing heatedly at Hanzō's weapon._

 _Meanwhile Hanzō stood back assessing the new arrival. 'Hmmm, he's fairly skilled with a blade to get away with only a wound to the shoulder. Still that should be enoughfor the toxin to kill him so I needn't worry. As for the other one,'Hanzō's gaze veered over to Mifune who was lying down on the ground exhaustion clear on his face. 'He looks like he'll pass out any minute. I should be in the clear as long as no more of them arrive.'_

 _Just as Hanzō thought this Tatewaki arrived and helped a kneeling Keiji back up. "Keiji what happened to you?" asked Tatewaki in concern._

 _"Ugh, I got hit by his kusarigama on my shoulder and, rgghh, now my entire arm feels like it's on fire. I think it's, shit, poison," came the pained response._

 _"Don't worry I'll hold him off while you two get back to the village," said Tatewaki._

 _"No. YOU take Mifune back, and I'll hold Hanzō off. The poison is already too far gone Tatewaki and you know as well as I that I won't last long even with proper treatment. So go, take Mifune and run," reasoned Keiji._

 _"But-"_

 _"I said RUN!" yelled Keijiwhile pushing Tatewaki towards Mifune._

 _Closing his eyes in resignation, "Good luck then Keiji," and with that Tatewaki grabbed Mifune and took off towards the village._

. . . "And that was the last thing I saw before blacking out. While I was in the hospital getting looked over by a medic I overheard the news that his body was found by a retrieval team we sent. Hanzō escaped though and so all they could do was bring Keiji's body back home," concluded Mifune.

After concluding his story Mifune and Kushina stood there silently looking onto Keiji's tombstone, before Mifune bid her farewell but not without adding, "If you or your child needs anything. Just let me know Kushina, it is the least I can do for Keiji."

"I will. Thank you Mifune," said Kushina.

AN: And that's a wrap. Anyways please leave a review and tell me what you think. Ciao!


	3. Chapter 3: Training days

AN: Alright so here is the next chapter of Iron Whirlpools. I've been so excited with writing my very own fanfic that I ended up writing nonstop since yesterday night. Like I've said before though it'll be a slow build up but I will say that we are getting first to the first real arc of the story. Will probably start it in the next chapter.

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

\- line breaks/scene changes

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

[Konohagakure]

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on top of the Hokage tower looking over his village. He was the newly reinstated Third Hokage and the thought caused a somber gaze to appear on his face as he remembered the events that led to this. Two weeks had passed since the Kyῡbi's rampage. Though it seemed as quick as a heartbeat to Hiruzen as he was swamped with an overwhelming amount of work.

At the top of his priority list was the matter of what to do with Kumiko. Neither Minato nor Akane had any family left to take care of the girl and Jiraiya, her godfather, would not be able to take her outside of the village with him. That was an impossibility because Kumiko was now the Nine Tails jinchῡriki a valuable military asset that couldn't be risked by sending her outside of the village. Another option could have been adoption, but the council voted against it due to the possibility of one clan or family controlling the jinchῡriki. Simply put it would upset the power balance between the clans, and that was the last thing Konoha needed right now. However, Hiruzen had spent years dealing with such politics and was able to secure Kumiko as a dependent to the shinobi portion of the council. They would be responsible for taking care of all her needs, providing everything from food to lodging. It isn't the best of situations but it's better than leaving her all alone at an orphanage. At first the civilian council members wanted a hand in her care as well but Hiruzen shut down their motion citing Kumiko's jinchῡriki status and how that made her an important military asset thus only the shinobi portion of the council were qualified to oversee her development.

Additionally, Hiruzen didn't trust the civilians to take care of Kumiko. He saw how they reacted after he told them how Minato had died and sealed the Nine Tails into her. They had demanded the girl be executed "to finish what Yondaime-sama started". He doubted they would have said such a thing had they known who the girl's father was but he couldn't risk the girl's safety and chose to keep her lineage a secret. Though that was not the only thing kept a secret. After seeing their reaction to Kumiko, Hiruzen had banned all talk of the demon and its container under penalty of death. He hoped that by doing so the younger generations views wouldn't be tainted by their parents and would be able to accept Kumiko.

Many other things had to be dealt with as well. Some of which included the funeral service for all those who had died and a few minor repairs to the village. Additionally, Konoha continued to accept the same number of missions as per usual to keep up appearances even though a good portion of their forces had been killed. This led to the shinobi being run ragged by a constant flow of work. Thankfully things had finally started slowing down and the village itself seemed to sigh in relief.

 _Riiinng riiinng._ With the sound of a bell his break was over and Hiruzen was forced to end his musings and return to doing the bane of his existence, paperwork.

* * *

[ _Time skip 3 years_ ]

[Tetsu no Kuni]

Kushina was busy. She was always busy these days because of Naruto. She literally couldn't let him out of her sight lest he walk off and get into who knows what kind of trouble. Once when Naruto was only a year old they had gone to a park and she had put Naruto down for only a couple of minutes as she talked with another mom. Though, when she looked back at him she found him crawling across the street heading towards Nanami and Mifune who were eating at a ramen stand. Thankfully the two of them saw Naruto and where able to get him before he got run over by a cart, but the incident still stuck with her. Since then she'd taken to leaving Naruto with shadow clones whenever she had to do something else. Right now though she was attempting to feed Naruto lunch and he was proving to be very uncooperative.

"Come on, open up Naru-chan," sing-songed Kushina as she brought a spoonful of peas toward Naruto.

"No. Those peas taste bad," pouted Naruto as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Aw come on they aren't that bad, and if you don't eat them you won't get the special present I got for your birthday or get to eat ramen for dinner," teased Kushina.

At that Naruto took on a thinking pose, which Kushina found to be the cutest thing, before slowly opening his mouth and received the food. Smiling at how that played out Kushina scooped up some more food when someone knocked on their door. Wondering who it could be Kushina created a shadow clone, much to Naruto's amusement judging from the "ooooh" she heard, and had it continue to feed him lunch while she went and answered the door. Upon opening it Kushina was greeted by one of the few woman samurai in the village, Maki Noharu. Maki was slightly younger than Kushina and had light brown hair that went down to the arch of her back as well as matching brown eyes. She wore a simple dark blue jacket and black snow boots. Kushina had met Maki shortly after joining Tetsu no Kuni's military and the two regularly worked together on patrol shifts. Currently, they were working on creating a security barrier for the village. Being the sealing expert, it was really Kushina's project and Maki was just her bodyguard until the project's completion, but Kushina liked to think of them as a team anyway. "Oh, hey Maki what's up? I thought we agreed to take an off day today," asked Kushina.

"We did, but it's little Naruto's birthday and I would have felt awful not stopping by at the very least. Where is the little gaki anyway?" asked Maki wondering where the boy was. She was very fond of Naruto and was the one who took care of him whenever Kushina was away on an assignment.

"That's awfully nice of you, he'll be happy to see his 'Auntie Maki' hahaha. And oh my gosh where are my manners, come in come in. It's cold out there, you know," said an embarrassed Kushina. "Here hand me your coat and I'll put it away for you. You can go on ahead. Naruto is in the kitchen eating lunch."

"Thanks," said Maki as she removed her coat and boots revealing a simple blue kimono underneath. As she moved towards the kitchen, Maki heard Naruto's laugh fill the hallway. Smiling fondly, she entered the kitchen to see Naruto being tickled by Kushina's shadow clone. His bowl of peas lay forgotten on the counter. Laughing at the scene she joined Kushina's clone in tickling the poor boy. Seeing Maki arrive the clone decided to dispel due to it not being needed anymore, leaving Naruto to Maki's tender mercies. Eventually though, Naruto was swooped up by Maki and given a bear hug by the woman. "Ohhh it's so good to see you Naruto," cooed Maki.

Meanwhile Naruto was struggling to get out of Maki's death grip of a hug and said, "Auntie Maki, please let me go."

"Sorry Naruto but you're just so huggable," answered Maki before relenting and placed the young boy down before leading him into the living room. "So, do you want to open the present I got you?" asked Maki.

Confused Naruto said, "A present? What's that Auntie?"

"Haha, it's a gift silly. You know for your birthday."

"Really? What is it? I don't see anything."

"That's because I didn't take it out yet," said Maki. She walked back into the kitchen, reached under the counter and pulled out a long, wrapped box. Handing it to Naruto, Maki said, "Happy third birthday Naruto." Sitting down on the couch Maki watched as Naruto took the box and sat down on the floor to start opening it. Just then Kushina walked in and joined Maki on the couch.

"Where did that come from?" asked Kushina not remembering Maki having a present with her earlier.

"I got it last week at Hirame-san's weapons shop and during my last visit, stored it under the kitchen counter. You never noticed it?" answered Maki.

"No, I haven't but then again I never go looking there anyway," replied Kushina.

Their attention turned back to Naruto when he finished opening Maki's present and took out a wooden katana. "It's called a bokken. Trainees use them to practice with and I figured you'd like it. Now whenever I'm taking care of you, I can teach you some katas and you can practice even if I'm not here," said Maki.

"Wow. Thank you, Auntie!" thanked Naruto.

"Maki, a bokken? Are you serious? He's only three," whispered Kushina to Maki.

Maki, not expecting such a reaction from her, whispered back, "Well it's common for kids to start their training young even as young as Naruto. But if you don't want me to train him I understand. I should've asked you about it first before getting him anything."

"No, no it's not that. It's just that I thought I'd wait until he entered the academy before teaching him anything. Though if you're offering to train him then please do. I'm glad you and Naruto have hit it off so well," said Kushina.

Looking back at Naruto, Kushina said, "Well Naru-chan since you're opening presents, here's mine." Looking up at his mother, Naruto started jumping up and down at the thought of another gift. Settling him down, Kushina reached into her kimono and took out a small black box. Handing it to the boy Kushina said, "Here you go. Happy birthday sweetie."

"Thank you Ka-chan!" Naruto said cheerfully as he took the box from Kushina. Carefully opening it he found a necklace made with pitch black metal and attached was a deep green pendant made out of jade. The pendant was circular in shape and framed in silver. On one side of it were the kanji for duty, honor and family. Carved on the other side was the spiral shape of the Uzumaki crest.

Taking it from the box, Kushina placed it around Naruto's neck while saying, "The kanji stand for what are the most valued and important things in life. Duty, meaning your duty to protect your precious people. It's out of love that this duty comes from. Draw strength from it Naruto. Honor, there aren't too many people who are truly honorable anymore. Many see it as a weakness, but I'm telling you that doing the right thing will always be worth it in the end, no matter what. And finally, family. Your family is anyone who loves you no matter what. Always keep them close to your heart Naru-chan, because you are kept close to theirs. These kanji together represent the Uzumaki clan's nindō. I chose to have them inscribed so that you will always remember them along with their lessons. Promise me you'll never forget."

"I promise Ka-chan," replied Naruto who, determined to not let his mother down, took all that she had to say to heart.

* * *

[Time Skip]

A little over a year had passed since Naruto was given his necklace and bokken. During that time Kushina and Maki had trained the boy in many aspects of combat including kenjutsu, and basic conditioning. At the moment, Naruto was in the middle of their backyard practicing katas with his bokken. Everywhere around him was stark white snow. He was in a heavy black coat that had red orange trim and tuffs of wool on its edges. He had a matching pair of black snow pants and grey boots on as well. Watching him from the side lines were Maki and Kushina. The two had started Naruto's kenjutsu training the day after his birthday and he took to it like a fish to water. His instincts with a blade were remarkable being able to flawlessly weave strikes into complicated combinations. It was something usually only the graduating trainees at the academy could successfully do. And his stamina! Kushina and Maki had found out that the boy could go for hours just training. It was unbelievable for a 3-year-old. That's not to say that Naruto had no short comings as despite his above average stamina his speed and strength were lacking. To help with this, Kushina had applied resistance seals onto Naruto. They helped develop his speed and could be adjusted easily by her or Maki. Gravity seals to help with strength training would have to wait till Naruto was older as they tended to stunt young ones' growth. In the meantime, Naruto was stuck doing conventional strength training.

The pair had also taken to working with Naruto on his studies and as a result Naruto had taken to calling Maki as sensei whenever they were studying or training. Mainly, the group studied Uzumaki clan history along with tactics which Kushina and Maki taught respectively. It was a slow process, however, as Naruto had a short attention span when it came to things not related with sword play.

"That's good for now Naru-chan, you've been at it for the past 3 hours and it's time to start you're conditioning exercises. You know the drill. 15-mile run, 10 sets of 10 of: push-ups, tricep dips, and burpees, followed by the usual core routine we do," yelled out Kushina.

"Hai, Ka-chan!" yelled back Naruto.

"Wow Kushi-chan you're quite the slave driver, aren't you?" teased Maki.

"Huh, well no son of mine will be called soft or weak if I have anything to do with it. Besides he's dead set on entering the academy and joining the royal guard because of you. He'll need to be strong if I want him to come back home to me in one piece," reasoned Kushina somberly. She was still suffering the effects of losing so many loved ones and had become paranoid of losing Naruto. Not so much as that she wouldn't let him pursue his dreams but she'd be damned if she didn't help prepare her son for all the dangers in the world.

"Well I gotta get back to Mifune. He let me go for a little while but I have to get back to my shift at the gate," said Maki as she excused herself.

"Alright, seeya later Maki. Oh, and say hello to Mifune for me will you?" replied Kushina.

"Will do." With that Maki left and Kushina went back to watching Naruto run laps in their yard.

* * *

[9 months later]

Kushina sat in front of Naruto on the floor as she started explaining the principles of chakra to him. It was early in the morning and Maki stood off to the side sipping some coffee as she listened to Kushina's lecture.

"Chakra, Naru-chan, is the energy used to power all ninjutsu. It's a combination of our spiritual and physical energies, in other words our stamina and mental prowess. You with me so far?" asked Kushina, and upon getting a tired nod from Naruto, continued, "Good, now to use chakra we create hand seals to help focus our energy into a technique. It is possible to perform a jutsu without using hand seals, but it requires total mastery of said jutsu."

Before she could continue, Kushina noticed that Naruto had fallen asleep and was in the process of drooling all over the floor. Grinning mischievously Kushina said "Naru-chaan, oh Naru-chaan," in a sing song voice before yelling, "WAKE UP!" directly into his ear. Sitting up straight and now wide awake Naruto could hear Maki snicker behind him which caused him to scowl at her.

"Ow. Ka-chan what was that for?" asked Naruto indignantly.

"That was for falling asleep, now as I was saying we use hand seals to focus our chakra into jutsu, but there is a limit to how much chakra a person has. Take you and me for example I can tell you right now that I have more chakra than you because you're less experienced and my stamina is greater than your's. Now what does this tell you about chakra reserves and their development?" asked Kushina. She had taken to having Naruto answer these types of analytical questions where she'd tell him something and have him deduce his own conclusion. It was good training as on the battle field being able to analyze the situation or your opponent properly could mean the difference between life and death.

"Well um. . . just give me a minute Ka-chan," said Naruto as he thought about what his mother had told him about chakra so far. _'Ka-chan is older than I am could it have to do with age? No, that doesn't make any sense. Just because she's older doesn't mean she'd necessarily be stronger. Buuut. . . if it's made from my physical and spiritual energy then that means. . .'_ , "I think I have an idea of what you're getting at Ka-chan. You said chakra was a mix of my physical and spiritual energy. If that's the case then anything that increases either makes your reserves larger. But I am wondering, what kinds of exercises would do that Ka-chan?" Naruto asked.

Pleased by his answer, incomplete as it was (hey he's only 5 years old after all), Kushina said, "Very good Naru-chan, you're correct. Working on your physical and spiritual energy creates more chakra for you to use. Now we do this through exercise and practice to increase physical energy along with studying and meditation to increase spiritual energy." Wrapping up the session Kushina added, "There's lots more to chakra than that though like chakra control and different types of chakra but we can get to those later. For now I want you to focus into yourself and feel for your own chakra."

"Okay, Ka-chan," said Naruto. He then proceeded to sit down in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes and tried to find the chakra his Ka-chan had been talking about. At first Naruto didn't know what he was searching for until he felt something deep inside of him. It felt rough and unrefined but powerful. Like a strong current. Focusing on it Naruto let the feeling wash over him and take over.

All were silent in the house waiting for Naruto to finish the exercise when the two adults felt chakra start stirring in Naruto. "Well done Naru-chan. I didn't think you'd be able to get it on the first try like that," praised Maki while she placed her finished cup of coffee down. "That was an interesting way of explaining chakra to him Kushina. Do you mind if I show him something now that he's accessed his chakra?" asked Maki.

"Uh no, not at all," was Kushina's intelligent response.

"Okay well now that you know what chakra is Naruto let me show you what the world looks like through chakra," offered Maki as she took Kushina's spot in front of Naruto.

"Okay. So, what do I have to do sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Just place your hands in mine and focus like you did before. I'll do the rest," instructed Maki.

And so, Naruto took Maki's hands in his own and began focusing in on his chakra. Only this time instead of feeling a rough current, Naruto found Maki's chakra to be more like a great smooth river of fast flowing energy. What's more was that he could tell what his sensei was feeling. She was relaxed and content but was a little insecure about her teaching abilities. Then before he could ponder on it for much longer his senses seemed to expand outwards and he could see his Ka-chan's chakra. It was a brilliant red flame that seemed to swirl, more than that though he could also sense the people in the village around him. They too looked like bright flames to the boy. Curiously, as Naruto didn't know how, along with sensing the people's chakra he also understood them. Understood them as persons, who had hopes and dreams just like he did. Naruto couldn't tell the specifics such as what those hopes/dreams were or how they were feeling like he could with Maki-sensei, but he didn't need to. It was enough to know that they were people too and he felt. . . at peace. Suddenly though as quick as the feeling of understanding and peace came, it left as Maki had let go of Naruto's hand.

"What was that?" gasped Naruto. "I could feel your chakra and Ka-chan's too along with some of the villagers'. It felt like I understood them like I never thought I could. It felt like. . . oh, I don't know how to explain it," he rambled.

"You felt at peace maybe?" Maki suggested.

"Yeah. How did you do that sensei?" asked Naruto. Kushina was also curios as to what Maki had done and stood by listening attentively.

"I showed you a little something that's called ninshῡ. The more peaceful version of ninjutsu. What it does is it connects a person's spiritual energy with the world around them. The result is an understanding of those directly connected as well as a general awareness of those around the users regardless of whether they are part of the connection or not. The feeling of peace you felt was also due to the connection attuning you to the people around you," said Maki, but upon seeing Naruto give her a puzzled look, clarified and said, "You see when people come together using ninshῡ the technique connects the spiritual chakra of each person with the rest of the group. This forms bonds between those in the connection, and through those bonds who a person is and what they stand for are transmitted to the whole group. This helps bridge the gap between two people and bring them to an understanding. It is so thorough in this that even complete strangers can come out of the technique as the closest of friends," explained Maki.

"I'm still a little confused though sensei. I mean I get all of the stuff about the connection ninshῡ makes but I don't get how that gave me the peaceful feeling I felt," replied Naruto.

Maki sighed and continued on saying, "Hmmm, how to put this. . . The opposite of peace is conflict, right? Well conflict is what happens when people can't see eye to eye, whether it be due to greed, prejudice or anything in between. Now, since ninshῡ helps get rid of conflict by bringing people together it is only natural that you feel at peace when you use it. However, not everything can be solved by understanding alone. There are those out there who have a sincere intention to harm others, and no amount of time spent using ninshῡ can change that."

Naruto sat still thinking on what his sensei had said about ninshῡ, and then to the many battles fought throughout history that Ka-chan had told him about. And those were only the ones with his clan too. All totaled there must have been countless wars fought in the world. Naruto couldn't help but think that if only more people learned ninshῡ then there might not be as many wars happening all the time. So, he asked, "Then why doesn't someone teach everyone in the world ninshῡ? That way there wouldn't be as many wars happening."

"Someone did, or rather tried to. His name was the Rikudou Sennin (Sage of Six Paths), although whether he was real or just a legend is up to debate. Regardless the discovery of chakra and the development of ninshῡ is accredited to the Rikudou Sennin and his followers. It was also him who first began trying to teach ninshῡ to the world, but something went wrong with the way people received the lessons ninshῡ taught them. Instead of using the technique to reach out to others, people began to concentrate on their inner chakra alone and eventually weaponized the technique into what's now called ninjutsu," recounted Maki before continuing on with her lecture. "We samurai are the only ones who still practice ninshῡ. And even though we use its principles to create attacks with our chakra, we still try to keep with the peaceful teachings of ninshῡ by only using our skills to defend ourselves and our people."

"That's amazing Maki. I always believed the Rikudou Sennin was only a fairy tale, but you're saying the man is responsible for discovering chakra and in a twisted way even creating ninjutsu?" asked a surprised Kushina.

"Yes, at least that's we samurai believe," said Maki.

"Hmm well I'm more inclined to believe you after hearing about this ninshῡ. I can't help but wonder though, if shinobi once knew about ninshῡ then why wasn't I taught it before?" pondered Kushina.

"Probably because after ninjutsu was developed people didn't bother learning let alone teaching it. Today, to my knowledge, only the samurai pass down the teachings of ninshῡ," reasoned Maki.

After a small moment of silence as Naruto and Kushina digested what they had heard from Maki, Naruto spoke up and asked Maki, "Will you teach it to me Maki-sensei?"

Maki looked at Naruto strangely, not expecting someone so young to want to learn ninshῡ. Normally children his age pined to learn flashy chakra techniques not ninshῡ. Smiling at the five-year-old Maki replied, "Of course, I will, but you have to promise me that you'll take it seriously and do your best to use it for peace instead of fighting."

"I promise," swore Naruto sincerely.

And so, Maki began, "Well in that case the first step is to meditate. . ."

* * *

[6 months later]

Kushina stood in the middle of a clearing in the forest around their village. Spring was in full bloom, the air sported the fresh scent of various wildflowers, and animals ran around enjoying the lush grass that had been previously covered in snow. It was Kushina's favorite time of year and would often go out just to enjoy what nature had to offer. However, that was not the reason she was outside today. Today she was watching over her son, Naruto, as he ran up and down a great oak tree using his chakra to stick to its trunk. It was still baffling to her to think that Naruto could manage to master the exercise in a mere 3 days and was only training to augment his already larger than average reserves. It confused Kushina to no end. Though it was not unheard of for people to be born with large chakra reserves or for some to be born with near flawless chakra control, those two gifts also came hand in hand with terrible control and less chakra capacity respectively. Naruto on the other hand has shown both unnaturally large reserves and exceptional control. Kushina wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth though and only quickened what she had planned to teach Naruto.

Reaching the top of the oak tree for what seemed like the thousandth time Naruto decided to take a break and took a seat on the highest branch of the tree. He looked out into the wilderness around his person and then to his home behind him. The sun hung directly overhead and bore down on Naruto as he sat on the branch. Still the boy didn't let it bother him as he thought back on the past few months. He had grown in leaps and bounds and in such a short amount of time too. His kenjutsu skills were coming along very well and he had even been complimented on it by Mifune himself who was the talk of the village as the next up and coming general. In fact, Mifune had even offered him an apprenticeship which Naruto excitedly accepted. He met with the man every other day to either practice his sword play or learn about **Bushido (The Way of the Warrior)** and what it truly means to be a samurai. Additionally, his Ka-chan had deemed their study of Uzu's history complete and had now begun teaching him what had made them infamous amongst the shinobi world, **Fuinjutsu (The Art of Sealing).** He was very excited about it, and at first imagined being taught how to create powerful seals such as ones that could seal even bijuu. However, Kushina burst his bubble when she had him begin trying to improve his handwriting first instead. He had been disappointed but understood the need to get the basics down before anything else. Naruto had also started training in taijutsu. There wasn't a lot of help in that particular area of the ninja arts as his mother had never been a taijutsu powerhouse, but she knew enough to get him started. Finally, his development in ninshῡ was steadily growing as well, and after each session with Maki, Naruto felt his connection with others become even stronger. Thinking back on it though, Naruto thought that it was strange to be learning both the shinobi and samurai arts, but he didn't let it bother him as this way he was honoring both his parents. The thought made Naruto smile before his musings were cut short when he heard his Ka-chan shouting for him. Bored, Naruto stood and made his way down to the clearing.

"What took you so long Naru-chan? I was starting to get worried that something happened to you," said a concerned Kushina.

Naruto simply replied, "I was just taking a break Ka-chan. We've been out here for hours and I'm starting to get bored just running up and down that tree."

"Well we have been here for a while now Naru-chan so I guess it's okay. Just let me know next time you decide to take a break alright?"

"Alright."

"Good. Well like you pointed out we have been here for a while and the whole time all we did was tree climbing and some light sparring. So. . . how about I teach you a jutsu?" offered Kushina.

"Really? Alright! Whoo hoo! I'm gonna learn an awesome jutsu!" exclaimed an excited Naruto.

"Hey now, just calm down or you won't be able to concentrate long enough to actually learn what I have to teach," said Kushina as she struggled to get Naruto to hold still while internally thinking, _'Sheesh, I thought samurai were taught to be calm and controlled. He's acting just like I did when I was his age. Aw he really is his mother's son.'_ Soon after thinking this however, Kushina still couldn't get Naruto to stop ranting about cool jutsu and so she bonked him on the head and yelled, "WOULD YOU LISTEN UP FOR ONE DAMN MINUTE!"

Instantly quieting, Naruto calmly looked at his mother and said, "Ka-chan you shouldn't say stuff like that it's a bad word."

Face faulting at the complete one-eighty her sochi made, Kushina grumbled before saying, "Anyways, like I was saying I'm gonna teach you some very basic jutsu. Ideally you shouldn't need hand seals in order to perform these but since you're still learning it's okay. The jutsu I'll be showing you are called, **Henge (Transformation)** , **Bunshin (Clone)** , and **Kwarimi (Substitution)**. These are the three basic techniques that all shinobi know and when used effectively can be as dangerous or even more so than any other more 'powerful' jutsu. You see it isn't the jutsu that makes a ninja, it's how one uses it."

"Okay so how do I do these jutsu Ka-chan?" asked Naruto wanting to get to the point already.

"I'll show you. We'll first start with the **Henge**."

* * *

AN: A couple points of clarification just in case you didn't catch it:

1) In regards with the Third's decree to not mention the Kyuubi, I just wanted to clarify that though no one is allowed to talk about it Kumiko will still be told of her burden and trained using the Kyubi's chakra by the Konoha Council. This will allow her to train with its chakra in secret while still being able to have quasy normal relationships with her peers.

2) Kushina is still a kunoichi. Let me say that again. Kushina is STILL a kunoichi. This is because even though she has joined the samurai corps, her skills and abilities still align themselves to be a ninja. Also someone mentioned that Kushina in fact has purple eyes in cannon and not green as I had wrote back in chapter 2. I've now gone back and changed that to give her purple eyes.

Anyways the last thing I wanted to say was that I hope you all liked my explanation/interpretation of ninshu. And whether you liked the chapter or hated it please leave a review. I'd love to hear you what you thought as well as your suggestions.


	4. Chapter 4: Guard Duty

AN: Hello again! I come to you with yet ANOTHER chapter of Iron Whirlpools. How about that now. This ones longer than the previous 3 chapters, that's why it took so long to upload.

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Now on with the story!

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

A ten-year-old Naruto walked down the crowded streets of Osaku, the capital of Tetsu no Kuni. He was in a black jacket with red trim and had the Uzumaki crest emblazed on the back. He wore simple grey cargo pants with a black wrap around his shins along with black combat boots, and strapped across his back was a katana. Slung over his shoulder was a leather satchel containing scrolls with enough supplies sealed inside them to last a whole group a month. Looking around Naruto saw numerous shops and merchant stands selling goods ranging from rich, expensive spices to skillfully crafted weaponry. He was not there to shop, however, as he had a job to do. Naruto and four other samurai were there to act as bodyguards to the daimyo of Tetsu no Kuni while he vacationed in Yu no Kuni (the Land of Hot Springs). The samurai he was with were named Nashikiri, Seiki, Toru and his sensei Mifune. The four samurai were some of Tetsu no Kuni's best. It was a good thing too as the daimyo had specifically asked for a small entourage to enable easier travel, meaning quality would be the key to the daimyo's safety not quantity. Naruto, though, was only with them because Mifune had been the one tasked to choose who would come and had managed to squeeze Naruto into the detail even though he was only Mifune's student. The group was due to meet the daimyo shortly at his estate in the center of the city, and so the five of them walked briskly through the market place and residential district only to end in front of a walled manor with two guards standing by the gate. The guards were wearing long grey robes with royal purple trim, sandals and long pointed helmets. Both were armed with a spear and a katana which was kept in a scabbard and attached at the hip.

"Halt! State your business Samurai-san," commanded one of the guards.

Without missing a beat Mifune replied, "We've come to see the lord Daimyo, Hamachi-sama. My name is Mitsuhide Mifune my companions and I are the ones who will be escorting him and his family to the Land of Hot Springs."

"Hmm, then may we see your invitation to see Daimyo-sama?" asked the other guard.

Reaching into his satchel Naruto took out an official looking scroll and handed it to Mifune, who gave it to one of the guards. The guard opened the scroll to find a short message detailing the Daimyo's request along with the Daimyo's official seal. Satisfied that they were telling the truth, the guard respectfully hand the scroll back to Mifune while his partner opened the gate and led them inside the estate. Once inside, Naruto was awed to find himself in the middle of an extravagant garden that contained plants of all shapes and sizes. On either side of him were well kept hedges that framed paved paths that wove their way towards the manor itself. Beside the paths were numerous flower beds and sakura trees that loomed over their heads as well as a small flowing river that cut across the garden in an upside down 'V' shape. Still gaping at the beautiful scene before him Naruto failed to realize that the group had stopped and promptly bumped into Nashikiri causing the two of them to stumble and fall. At the same time, however, the daimyo had walked out to the front of manor intending to greet them, instead, he witnessed the clumsy spectacle the little redhaired boy made. It intrigued him, he was assured that the group consisted of the best and yet here was what looked to be a 10-year-old.

Standing up and rubbing at his bruised rear Naruto said, "Oww, sorry about that Nashikiri-san. I got caught up with how pretty the garden was and wasn't looking where I was going. My bad."

"That's okay Naruto, and what did I say about all that -san stuff?" chided Nashikiri after getting back up from the ground.

"That it's just Nashikiri or Nashi-sempai," said Naruto.

"There you go. What a good kohai you are Naruto-kouhai," teased Nashikiri as he patted Naruto on the head which caused the redhead to grumble at him.

Suddenly the two were interrupted by a hearty laugh from the Iron Daimyo. The man was middle aged in appearance and had short spiky black hair. He wore an affluent white silk kimono that had delicate designs sewn into it. Currently he was standing above them atop the stairs that led to the inside of the manor while laughing in amusement at their antics. Looking over and finally noticing just who was with them, Naruto and the samurai immediately kneeled on one knee and bowed their heads before chorusing, "Daimyo-sama!"

"Daimyo-sama I apologize for the state you found me and my men in just now. I assure you that they are the best Tetsu no Kuni has to offer and that you will be completely safe in our company," spoke Mifune hurriedly trying to run damage control before he and the village lost face in front of their lord.

Trying to placate the warrior the Daimyo said, "It is quite alright Mifune-san. I found it quite amusing and a satisfying relief from all the 'properness' around here. As for assuring me of my safety, I thank you but you really needn't say much. I have full faith in all your capabilities and have heard of all of your skills from the samurai stationed here in Osaku." Approaching the kneeled samurai, the Iron Daimyo said, "Mitsuhide Mifune, famed swordsman of Tetsu no kuni. A master of **Iaido (The Way of Iai)**. Stories of your honor and valor have reached even my ears. Haji Toru, of the Haji clan, you and your clan continue to serve our people as just and loyal warriors. I thank you and welcome you to my home. Takayama Seiki, one of our brightest medic-samurai. Level headed and a skilled healer. You're a good man to have in any situation. And, oh my, even Yuki Nashikiri, known for your speed in battle is here." As he addressed them each by name the samurai all stood but when the Daimyo reached the end of the line to Naruto he said, "Finally we come to you. I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of meeting or hearing of you yet young man. What's your name?"

"It's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. And I'm sorry about earlier, running into Nashikiri-san and all."

Beside him Nashikira mumbled, "It's just Nashikiri, you brat."

Pretending not hear him, Naruto continued, "I was just caught up admiring your garden here, ya know? My Ka-chan back home loves this kind of stuff and I picked up her eye for really pretty scenery. I bet it's even more beautiful when the cherry blossoms bloom and all ya know. And I didn't even see the whole thing yet but already I know it's a wonderful piece of work, ya know, and-" Before Naruto could continue rambling and making a fool out of himself in front of the Daimyo, Mifune cleared his throat loudly as a blatant sign to Naruto to stop talking.

Amused by the boy the daimyo paid Mifune no heed and engaged Naruto in a conversation as he entered the manor and motioned for them to follow him. "I'm glad to know you liked our garden so much Naruto-kun. You don't mind my calling you that right? Right, anyways me and my wife would gladly show you the rest of it if you want. There are some especially wonderful sculptures and picnic areas further in."

"Really? I'd like that very much Daimyo-sama," replied Naruto excitedly.

"Bah! You don't need to call me that here Naruto-kun. We are in the privacy of my home and all the people here simply refer to me as Riku-dono," the daimyo mentioned offhandedly as he led them down to the main living area of the house. It was a large room with high vaulted ceilings and had a dome in the middle where a crystal chandelier hung. In the center of the room was a large round table made out of darkly colored wood, in contrast with the rooms light brown wooden flooring. Underneath the table was a large expensive rug and all-around said table were cushions guests could use to sit on. Off to both sides of the room were corridors while a staircase was located behind the room leading to the private living quarters of the daimyo and his wife. After arriving in the living room Hamachi left them in the capable hands of his attendant, Akari, citing a need to finish some last-minute packing. Akari was a short, brown haired, green eyed young woman. She wore a lightly colored kimono and had her hair tied into a bun. Naruto found her very friendly and likeable as they talked while Akari showed them to their rooms. The daimyo had planned on leaving in two days so until then they would remain within the city.

Entering his own room Naruto sighed as he laid down on the bed provided. It was his first time out of the village and he had been excited at first but now he just wanted to rest. Closing his eyes, Naruto called it a day and quickly fell asleep.

The next day Naruto woke up at the crack of dawn and walked out to a small courtyard he had spotted the day before to get some early morning training in. He was used to waking up around this time and immediately made 20 **Kage Bunshin.** Kushina had taught him the technique about a year and a half ago when she had sensed that his chakra reserves were large enough to safely use the technique, and as a matter of fact, according to her, he now had about the same amount of chakra as a fully-fledged jounin. It had surprised Naruto at first when Kushina had told him this but quickly brushed it off seeing how it could only be a good thing. After learning the jutsu, Kushina had also told him about the memory transfer aspect of **Kage Bunshin** and how it could be used to help accelerate training. Now, every time Naruto trained he made at least 10 **Kage Bunshin** , and so far, it had helped him improve rapidly in his studies. Thanks to his **Kage Bunshin** Naruto had been able to get a head start on elemental training, taijutsu, and his clan's chakra chains technique. Furthermore, over the past 5 years his sealing skills had also improved and Naruto could now successfully create explosive notes, sealing scrolls, chakra suppression seals, the **Sanpo Fuin** **(Three Directions Seal)** as well as several original Uzumaki seals.

Naruto faced his copies and began assigning them work to do. "You five," he said pointing at the group of clones furthest from him, "I want you guys to start working on our kenjutsu katas," he said getting nods of affirmation from himself. "I also need two of you to continue working on our chakra chains. I still don't have enough control over it to use more than five chains properly. Work on that. I also need a group of five to practice the leaf cutting exercise while another group of five works on paper dampening." Kushina had introduced Naruto to chakra natures a little under a year ago and since then Naruto had made exceptional progress.

[Flash back]

 _Kushina and Naruto sat together at a park near their home. They had finished their regular training for the day and had settled down for lunch. However, Kushina would have no time be wasted and had eventually began teaching Naruto more lessons on chakra and ninjutsu. "Okay Naru-chan, so today we'll be learning about nature transformations. What I mean by that is the different elements chakra can be turned into. What were they again?" asked Kushina to Naruto._

 _"There are 5 different chakra natures Ka-chan. They are: Katon (Fire Release), Fuuton (Wind Release), Raiton (Lightning Release), Suiton (Water Release), and Doton (Earth Release). Each nature type also has an advantage over another. For example, Suiton jutsu are very effective against Katon but are weak against Doton. However, jutsu of higher caliber or greater chakra input will still be able to overpower another regardless of nature types," answered Naruto succinctly._

 _"Very good sochi. You actually paid attention when I told you that," said Kushina but shortly added, "for once."_

 _"Hey! I listen," whined Naruto indignantly._

 _"Uh huh. Anyways, the reason I brought up nature transformations again was because I wanted to test you for your nature affinity today," explained Kushina._

 _Confused, Naruto asked, "How do we do that Ka-chan?"_

 _"By using special chakra paper of course. All you have to do is channel chakra to the paper and depending on what happens you'll know which chakra nature you're most attuned for. This doesn't mean though that you can only learn the nature your main affinity is for. Through intense training you can naturally develop other affinities aside from your original one. Here give it a go," said Kushina before handing Naruto a small slip of paper. "The paper will react to your chakra so if you have an affinity for suiton it will get wet, katon will make it ignite, raiton and it will crumple, doton and it will turn to dust, and finally for fuuton it will be cut in half."_

 _Immediately after Kushina said this, Naruto channeled some chakra to the paper and watched as it dampened and then proceeded to split in half. "What does that mean Ka-chan?" asked Naruto worriedly not knowing if this was a good thing or a bad thing._

 _"Amazing. Congratulations Naru-chan! It looks like you have 2 natural affinities. One for suiton and another for fuuton!"_ 'My baby is so cool, the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.' _Thought Kushina._

 _"Really? That's awesome Ka-chan! Now what do I do?"_

 _"Well now, we start training you in your affinities, and you're in luck because I happen to be both a wind and water user. For wind, the first step is to cut a leaf and for water it's to soak a sheet of paper. Now it may seem simple but since both have to be done with only one's chakra these exercises are precariously difficult to do," came Kushina's reply._

 _"That's okay Ka-chan I'll master my elements, no matter what!"_

 _Smiling at him Kushina replied, "I know you will Naru-chan."_

[End flashback]

Since then Naruto had been able to figure out that in order to complete the exercises, he had to channel his chakra like the elements he was turning it into. For wind, since its nature was prone to cut and shred targets, Naruto tried to channel his chakra in the shape of blades that ground into each other to form a sharp edge. Water on the other hand was very versatile and it was in its nature to flow freely. And so, he found that trying to force chakra through paper was not the way to complete the exercise and instead he had to imagine his chakra as water and allow it to flow freely into the paper. So far, these methods turned out well for Naruto, as he was able to cut ¾ of the way through a leaf as well as get paper to dampen considerably with just his chakra. Both lacked control though as well as power and so every day Naruto would send five clones each to work on his water and wind chakra transformations.

Turning to the remaining three clones, Naruto said, "As for you three I need someone to train in water walking and the other two can spar until they run out of chakra."

"You got it boss!"

"Just leave it to us."

"Ugh I hate sparing. Why couldn't you assign us something fun, like the sealing detail."

Said all three at the same time. "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever just get to it. In the meantime, I'll be starting my warm up exercises right here, so don't even think about slacking off," stated Naruto. It was a curious thing his shadow clones. Even though they were only chakra constructs the kage bunshin Naruto created almost always had quirks and one of them was a tendency to slack off when they got bored. Maki thought it was hilarious that Naruto had to try to keep himself inline and often teased him about how talking to himself was a sign of mental instability.

The clones all nodded glumly and continued working on their assigned activity. Meanwhile, Naruto had started his laps around the courtyard. Usually he ran for about 2 hours nonstop before he continued onto strength and speed training, but today Naruto only ran for about 5 minutes before stopping. The reason was because Naruto couldn't feel the familiar drag created by his resistance and gravity seals, which meant it was time to increase their levels. Naruto always wore resistance seals to work on his speed. Even when his Ka-chan had deemed his speed passable, Naruto continued to keep them on and increase its levels. Gravity seals on the other hand were a fairly recent addition to his person. He had been forced to forego wearing gravity seals as they stunted little ones' growth but now that he was getting older Kushina had applied gravity seals onto Naruto in addition to his resistance seals. It was eight months ago when they did that and this was already the seventh time Naruto had to add more weight and resistance. Sighing at the halt in his workout Naruto folded his hands into the dog hand sign and increased his resistance seals to level 58 and the weightage to 80 lbs on his arms and torso while setting the seals over his legs to 225 lbs. Once that was done Naruto jogged a couple steps forward having to exert himself a good deal more than usual. It now felt like he was running through thick mud when compared to earlier which Naruto thought was perfect. It wasn't too easy that it didn't feel like he was working at all and it wasn't so hard that he couldn't move an inch either. With that Naruto began his laps anew all the while unaware of a figure watching him from afar…

Princess Toshi Hamachi stood leaning against one of the pillars that made up the long portico that lead to the courtyard where Naruto was currently training alongside his clones. She was an elegant looking figure dressed in a pure white kimono that was decorated with flowers and lined in a gold tainted trim. Her long dark hair was tied up into a tight formal bun while a few strands were brushed to the side framing her face. She had beautiful cream-colored skin and bright green eyes. Currently her green orbs were staring in amazement as she looked towards the courtyard and on at the most bizarre scene she had ever witnessed. In the middle of the courtyard were 20 identical boys who looked to be about her age doing an assortment of activities. Some were moving around practicing movements with long slender katanas, others had what looked to be chains sprouting from their backs and hands, and still more stood about doing something with leaves and slips of paper. The princess found it all very strange to say the least when out of the corner of her eyes, Toshi spotted another one of the boys. This one, however, was coming near her as he ran along the perimeter of the yard. He was shirtless and his breathing was labored. Calling out to him she motioned the redhaired boy over to her. When he got there Toshi couldn't keep a light blush from forming on her cheeks as his toned frame became clear to her. She hadn't noticed that particular aspect until now and was fighting to get her composure back. She was a royal after all, the daughter of a daimyo. She couldn't be seen so flustered.

"Hello. You must be the boy father was talking about that came with the samurai yesterday, but he didn't mention that there were more of you," said Toshi as she motioned towards Naruto's kage bunshin. "I'm Hamachi Toshi the daimyo's daughter, and you are?" greeted Toshi.

Naruto, upon realizing who she was, suddenly dropped to one knee before saying, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, Toshi-hime."

Frowning at the overly formal display from someone her own age, Toshi replied, "Please, don't call me that I hate it when people get all uppity and formal around me. Especially outside of formal events. Just call me Toshi."

Smiling at her Naruto stood up and said, "Alright then Toshi. You know I'm surprised to hear that coming from someone like you. Because, honestly, I thought you'd be spoiled being the daimyo's daughter and all."

Sighing Toshi told him, "You are correct to think that way Uzumaki-san. Most royals would rather die than let a commoner address them like that. But me and my family are different from all of them. We're former commoners, or at least my mother and I are. My father was the prince of Tetsu no Kuni but he moved out of the capitol and into the country sometime before he met my mother. He wanted to get away from palace life you see. Something about trying to learn humility and finding inner peace I think. Anyways he and my mother met there and had me. So, I grew up outside of the palace and when my grandfather died, my father became the next daimyo of Tetsu no Kuni. We moved to the capital and became the royal family when I was four, but I never truly took too it."

"That's pretty amazing Toshi, how you went from rags to riches and all. You can call me Naruto by the way. I don't like honorifics all that much either," replied Naruto.

"So, who are those behind you? Are they your brothers?" asked Toshi curiously.

Giggling at her questions Naruto said, "Haha, no they're not my brothers. They're actually my clones. It's a special ninjutsu that lets me make solid copies of myself. Plus, whatever they learn I do too. It makes for great training."

"Oh," said Toshi, blushing in embarrassment. "But I thought you were apprenticed to Mifune-san? How would you know a ninjutsu like that? Samurai don't practice ninjutsu."

"Yeah, you're right they don't, but it wasn't Mifune-sensei who taught me the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** it was my Ka-chan. She used to be a ninja from Uzu no Kuni, until… until it was destroyed," explained Naruto who got decidedly less lively towards the end.

Sensing that she had unintentionally mentioned a sore topic for the boy Toshi offered to show Naruto the gardens, to which he readily agreed to. The two of them then spent the whole day afterwards just getting to know each other. Toshi was very grateful for Naruto's company since she didn't often meet anyone her age, and the few she did, usually rubbed Toshi in a wrong way as most had arrogance to spare. Naruto on the other hand was glad to have made a new friend in Toshi. He found her to be courteous and friendly, a rare combination amongst royalty these days, and looked forward to spending an entire month with her even if he was just acting as her body guard.

* * *

"Whoa there girl," spoke Seiki to the horse pulling the royal carriage bringing it to a stop. He was wearing his full samurai battle armor along with his katana which was strapped to his hip. Beside him sat Naruto who was acting as lookout/co-driver for the group. The young boy was in his usual attire consisting of a black jacket, grey pants and combat boots, only today in addition to this he wore kunai holsters on his left and right thighs and had his katana strapped across his back. The carriage they were driving carried the daimyo and his family and was fairly large with a set of double doors on the sides. On either side of the carriage were Nashikiri and Toru each on horses and garbed in their own sets of armor. Behind the carriage rode Mifune atop his own horse as he guided a small pack donkey carrying their supplies. The donkey carried all the necessities they needed for travel. Scrolls full of ready to eat food, clothing, tents and any accessories for the daimyo's comfort. They were headed to Mizuchi Port where they would take a ship and sail across to Yu no Kuni (the Land of Hot Springs). It was five days of travel to the port by carriage and already four days had passed without a hitch. Despite this though, Mifune and his men never let down their guard and were ever watchful even though they were still in Tetsu no Kuni. Noticing that the group had stopped Mifune rode up to Seiki.

"Something wrong Seiki?"

"No, nothing's wrong sir. It's just time for a break. The horses can't keep this up all day you know they need a break every now and then along with some food and water."

"Alright, but try and be quick about it. The sooner we get to Mizuchi Port the better. I can't say for certain but I got a bad feeling about this. Something just doesn't feel right," whispered Mifune softly as to not alert any eavesdroppers or panic the daimyo.

"I will. And don't take this the wrong way but, I hope you're wrong about all this sir," Seiki whispered back. Hopping off the driver's seat Seiki unclasped the harnesses on the horses and led them to a patch of healthy looking grass on the side of the road. Naruto meanwhile had hopped off to find Toshi and see how his friend was doing. During his stay at the daimyo's manor the two had grown close in a short amount of time and Naruto had taken to "checking in on his charges" every chance he could get. Really it was just his excuse to go see Toshi so the two could chat or play, but no one seemed to pay the two too much attention, though Riku and his wife did encourage it as Toshi didn't often make friends. It saddened them to know how hard a time Toshi had forming real friendships since they moved to the capitol. Oh, sure there were plenty who wanted her friendship, but it was only because of what she was (the Princess of Tetsu no Kuni) and not who she was as a person. Riku, however, could see that Naruto truly cared about Toshi. It was in the way the two chatted at night over the campfire and how they would play games just like it used to be when his family lived in the country side. Naruto saw Toshi for Toshi and that thought always made the man smile.

Approaching the door on the side of the carriage Naruto was just about to knock when it suddenly opened hitting Naruto flat on his face and knocking him to the ground. Toshi appeared out of the carriage wondering why they had stopped and was just about to go and find Naruto when she heard a groan beneath her.

"Ughhh, what's that thing made of? It feels like I just got hit to kingdom come by that door," mumbled Naruto as he held his head and got up from the ground.

"Oh my Kami, I'm so sorry Naruto. I didn't see you in front of the door," Toshi quickly apologized.

"Huh? Oh, that's okay Toshi, Ka-chan always said that I was thick skulled so I'll be alright," Naruto assured her.

"I don't think that's what she meant by that Naruto," replied Toshi.

"But what else could it mean?" asked Naruto but quickly changed the topic much to Toshi's relief. She did not want to be the one to explain it to him. "Anyways Seiki-san is feeding and watering the horses so I thought I'd see if you or your parents would like me to get something for you guys to eat."

"That would be wonderful Naruto dear, but here let me help you," said the Riku's wife, Matsu. Naruto was just about to say no and that he could manage but the woman cut him off saying, "I've been meaning to get some fresh air and this gives me the perfect excuse." With that, Matsu stepped out onto the road and went to the supply donkey. She was a medium height woman and had shoulder length black hair as well as shimmering green eyes just like her daughter. She wore a simple light blue kimono and a pair of black sandals. She walked briskly and by the time Naruto caught up to her she was already by the donkey.

"You must be really hungry Matsu-dono. That was fast. Here just tell me what you'd like and I'll unseal it for you," offered Naruto.

"Why thank you Naruto. I'd like some of the dorayaki if you would, and what did I tell you about calling me Matsu-dono?" said Matsu as she loomed over Naruto.

This caused Naruto to shiver at the look on Matsu's face. He had forgotten that she greatly disliked being called -dono. Makes her feel old she says, and by calling her that (to Matsu) Naruto had basically just called her an old hag or something of the like. How -dono equated to old hag Naruto would never understand but his survival instincts kicked in as he quickly said, "Er I mean Matsu-chan? -san? I don't know anymore, just take the food!" cried Naruto as he hurriedly unsealed the sweet expensive treats and handed them to Matsu.

"Ka-chan, leave Naruto alone you know he can't help but call you by your title. He's trained that way after all," Toshi told her mother.

"Bah. I wasn't going to do anything to him, I was just having some fun Toshi-chan. In time, you'll understand how much fun it is whipping cute boys like Naruto here into shape," teased Matsu unintentionally causing Naruto to blush and Toshi to be rendered to indignant sputtering. Close by Nashikiri and Toru dismounted and chuckled at the amusing antics of the trio.

"Hey um, Matsu-san? Would it be ok if me and Toshi went out and played a bit? We might be here for a while since the horses tend to take their time grazing," asked Naruto sleepily.

"Well it's alright with me. What do you think Toshi?" said Matsu.

Toshi was quick to reply with, "Yeah, I'd love to."

"Okay then, but bring Toru with you just in case alright. And don't wander away too far we could leave at any minute," yelled Matsu as Naruto and Toshi had immediately taken off as soon as she voiced her approval. Running after the children Toru quickly turned back and told her not to worry and that he'd keep them safe.

* * *

Gleefully running through the forest Naruto and Toshi stumbled upon a small streamin the middle of a glade and proceeded to play around in the water. Behind them was Toru. He had been surprised by Naruto's childlike behavior until he reminded himself that Naruto was still just a boy. He had forgotten that about him because all he ever saw Naruto do was study or train these days. It had been a welcomed sight to see Kushina and Keiji's boy playing and simply enjoying himself. Toru had known Keiji. They were in the same graduating class at the academy, and it saddened him that Naruto never knew his father. He was thinking about this when several kunai suddenly lodged themselves into his back and a spear of rock impaled his right lung.

"Ahh!" Toru screamed getting Naruto and Toshi to turn around and pale when they saw his condition. "It's an ambush! Naruto take Toshi-hime and run, now!"

Snapping out of his shock at seeing Toru's state, Naruto quickly scooped up Toshi and carried her off bridal style back towards where the carriage was. Before he could even make it out of the glade, though, two of their assailants seemingly appeared out of the air and blocked their path. Turning around Naruto found another two right behind him and Toshi. Gritting in frustration Naruto deftly wiggled a smoke pellet out of his weapons pouch and onto the ground. He then crushed it under his foot filling the whole area in smoke. His opponents were quick to jump out of the smoke thinking that Naruto would use it to attempt an escape, however, they were proven wrong when four Naruto's jumped out of the smoke and instead of running engaged them with their katanas. Meanwhile within the smoke Naruto himself took a scroll from one of his pockets and unsealed its contents revealing a dozen of his shadow clones in meditative poses. " **Suimin Ryuu: Fuin Kai (Sleeping Dragons: Seal Release)."** said Naruto as he finished the jutsu.

It had taken Naruto a while to design this seal. Basically, it was just a number of **Kage Bunshin** sealed inside of a scroll, similar to the way some jutsu were sealed. However, since his shadow clones were sentient they experienced what life was like in the seal, or rather the lack there of, and when Naruto unsealed them he received memories of a void where he couldn't feel, hear, see, smell, or taste. It was torture and his clones always came out frothing at the mouth with the addition of a slight case of claustrophobia. Needless to say, Naruto had had to develop an environment within the seal in order to avoid this problem. It had taken a while but he was eventually able to create such a seal. It came with an obvious advantage since Naruto could make clones before a battle and recover. This meant that he didn't need to expend chakra during battle to create the clones. It was because of this that Naruto could theoretically make an unlimited number of clones instead of his normal limit of 25.

Today the technique would prove valuable as Naruto would need every ounce of chakra he had to best their assailants. After unsealing his kage bunshin, Naruto quickly henged himself into Toshi and handed Toshi off to one of his clones. The Naruto clone with Toshi quickly sealed her back into the scroll he had come from and pocketed the scroll. It then gave its creator a nod before leaping away towards the carriage with two more clones acting as an escort. Meanwhile the smoke had fully dissipated revealing the remaining nine Narutos and the decoy Toshi. Looking around Naruto noticed that he was facing four shinobi and if their headbands were to be believed, they were from Iwa. Narrowing his eyes at them Naruto left his clones to fight the enemy shinobi while he ran in the opposite direction of Toshi's group. After all he still had a part to play. Not to mention that Naruto knew he wouldn't last long against a fully trained ninja, never mind a full team. Right now, his best bet was to stall long enough for the others to assist him.

"Ugh more of this lousy brat's clones. This was supposed to be a cake walk after we dealt with the samurai. No one ever said the kid knew ninjutsu though," complained a black haired chuunin as he dispelled another one of Naruto's **Kage Bunshin**.

"Quit your whining Dorotsuchi. They are easy enough to defeat. Now help us finish up here so we can get Toshi-hime before they find the rest of their samurai guards. We got lucky with that other one, the rest will be on guard," replied another chuunin. This time it was a woman who appeared to be the squad leader. There were only three clones remaining now and as a last-ditch effort one of the clones sent a crescent shaped wave of chakra at the woman. She skillfully dodged it though and then placed her hand flat on the ground while saying, **"Doton: Doryuso (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears)."** A line of rock spikes coursed through the ground from her hands and swiftly impaled the remaining Naruto clones. "C'mon let's move. The princess couldn't have gotten far."

"What about that samurai back there?" asked a stocky rock nin.

"Leave him, he'll die soon enough," was the cold answer he received from their team leader, and with that done the Iwa shinobi headed off in pursuit of Naruto's trail.

* * *

[Meanwhile with Toshi and the Naruto clones]

Running across the tree tops the trio of red-heads quickly made it to the rest of their group. Upon arriving Mifune called out to them. "Naruto, what's happened? Where's Toshi-hime and Toru?"

"I have the Toshi here with me," the clone in the middle said while providing a scroll and unsealing Toshi from it. He would have continued with debriefing Mifune but Toshi quickly clobbered him to the ground with a hug.

"Naruto! What just happened? One moment we were under attack and then the next thing I know I'm in some empty room."

"You were attacked?!" exclaimed Seiki who immediately grabbed his sword.

"Yes, and I can explain everything," said the kage bunshin.

* * *

Naruto was starting to run out of ideas. He couldn't take them head on as with their numbers advantage they would simply overwhelm him. Currently he was jumping from tree to tree dodging for his life. Thankfully the shinobi needed Toshi alive and they weren't aiming to kill, but they also apparently didn't have any problems with maiming her. Naruto quickly ducked under a log as several shuriken came flying by his head. It was then that he noticed that there were strings attached to the projectiles. The ninja who threw the shuriken quickly pulled back on the strings causing them to wrap around Naruto. Thinking they had finally caught the girl they left the tree tops and quickly converged on her. They were shocked however so see Toshi dispel and turn into a log.

 _'What?! A_ _ **Kawarimi**_ _?'_ thought the flabbergasted kunoichi. _'We weren't told that she had shinobi training!'_

Just then an un-henged Naruto appeared on top of a tree branch going through a series of hand seals before his cheeks bulged and he spat out three cannon sized water bullets. **_'Suiton: Teppodama (Water Realease: Gunshot)'_** The four chuunin were able to dodge the surprise attack easily enough but were unprepared for Naruto's second attack. Swiftly after the bullets left his mouth Naruto drew his katana and flowed his chakra though it before channeling chakra to his limbs and shooting out towards the distracted shinobi. He weaved through them with his sword cutting each one twice before he gently flicked his blade to clean off the blood. **_'Iaido ( The Way of Iai)'._** Instead of blood, however, he found the blade covered in a thin layer of mud and looking back towards his opponents he saw that three of them had reverted to mud and only one, the short and stocky built shinobi, had fallen to his technique. He was missing two parts of his body, one was his left arm from the elbow down and the other was his head. Both pieces lay still on the ground with the man's body following shortly thereafter. Naruto gagged at the scene of his first kill, but pushed it out of his mind for now.

"You killed Tarotsuchi! I'LL KILL YOU!" screamed an enraged Dorotsuchi. He leaped at the red-head intending to crush him to paste with his next jutsu. **"Doton: Retsudo Tenshō (Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!"**. The ground around Naruto suddenly started rupturing and tried to swallow Naruto up. Before it could crush the boy though, Naruto shunshined away to a tree branch above Dorotsuchi.

"A warrior should never lose his cool in a battle, or else he might just lose his life," quoted Naruto as he launched a crescent wave of chakra at Dorotsuchi, only for Dorotsuchi to revert into mud upon contact.

Suddenly Naruto found a kunai buried into his back. "Oh yeah little boy? Well I guess whoever taught you forgot to teach the most important lesson of all. Always. Watch. Your. Back. You lose," came the deft whisper of the Iwa squad's leader.

Naruto couldn't believe it. He had been sure they were all in front of him. How could he get so careless? He mentally berated himself as he began to cough up blood. The kunoichi pulled out the kunai in his back before Naruto felt her plunge it back into him. She was just about to stab him for a third time when someone shouted, **"Iaido!"** This time the user hit all three of his marks and the Iwa shinobi were dead before they hit the ground. Mifune quickly cleaned his katana off and walked back over to Naruto, cradling the boy in his arms.

"Naruto. No, no, no. You can't die on me now boy. You're Ka-chan would kill me if I let you die. C'mon be strong now," fretted Mifune while internally thinking _'I won't let a comrade die. Not again, and especially not Naruto.'_ He had come to care for the boy deeply and Mifune didn't want to let the son of the man who saved him die. He wouldn't be able to face Keiji in the next life if he did.

"Sensei… you're here. Th-the shinobi. They *cough, cough* attacked us. Toru-san and I, we tried to protect Toshi-hime as best we could but-" wheezed Naruto as every breath was a struggle.

"Hush. I've taken care of your attackers. Save your strength I'm taking you to Seiki. He'll be able to patch you up. I left him and Nashikiri back at the carriage to guard the daimyo," Mifune said to Naruto as he wrapped Naruto wounds to help slow the bleeding. He then picked up his wounded apprentice and sprinted back to where Seiki was.

* * *

It was early in the morning and the citizens of Osaku were only just beginning to wake. The roads leading to the city were always empty at this time of day save for a few farmers on their way to the city to sell their crops. On this particular morning, however, the royal carriage was seen speeding down the main road. Trailing behind it were two samurai mounted on horseback with one carrying a body sized bag. The carriage rushed straight to the hospital and out of it came a strange sight. The daimyo and his wife were carrying a boy with blood red hair and violet eyes. Princess Toshi was by their side holding what looked to be a katana to her chest. The boy was unconscious as well as shirtless revealing bloody bandages across his torso. The daimyo quickly handed the injured boy over to the driver who appeared to be yet another samurai guard. He then turned to the two on horseback and started giving them orders while his wife and child entered the hospital following after the redhaired boy. Once inside the group was immediately admitted into the surgery room, and while the samurai guard was allowed in the two royals were politely asked to stay within the waiting room. They did so reluctantly and after an hour or two a surgeon came out and said, "Matsu-sama, Toshi-hime, the operation was a success. We were able to stabilize the boy you brought in, but he will need to stay for a couple days to recover from his injuries."

"How bad was it Doctor-san? Seiki-san said that he had some internal bleeding but didn't elaborate as we rushed back home," said Matsu. Toshi was intently listening into the conversation, wanting to know what had happened to her friend.

"The boy did indeed have heavy internal bleeding. Both his pancreas and abdominal aorta were punctured, he's very lucky you had a skilled medic with your group. The samurai, Seiki I think was his name, was able to slow the bleeding enough for him to survive until he could be properly treated. It's an incredible feat considering the lack of equipment he had. We've been able to stop the bleeding completely and give him some blood to replace the amount he lost. He'll feel weak for the next couple of days but the boy will live," answered the surgeon.

"Thank you, doctor. That boy is the reason I have Toshi with me today and I'm relieved to hear you say he'll live," said Matsu giving out a sigh of relief.

"May we see him?" piped up Toshi.

The man looked down at Toshi and told her, "Yes hime, but he's asleep so please try not to wake him. He needs rest right now."

Nodding in acknowledgement Toshi and her mother followed a nurse that took them down to the recovery ward and entered Naruto's room. He was laying in a bed with an IV drip next to him. His skin was pale and breathing was shallow. Toshi took a seat next to the bed and gently ran her fingers through his hair as if trying to comfort him. He had been injured trying to protect her. Her friend had almost died the least she could do was be there for him when he woke up.

Matsu watched Toshi from the other side of the room and took a seat by a window overlooking a small park. Her mind was racing with thoughts and trepidation. Her husband had gone off to confront his brother and she hadn't heard a word from him since. Her worrying, however, abruptly ended when the person of her thoughts entered the room. Riku looked haggard and spent as he took a seat next to his wife.

"How is he?"

"Recovering. The doctor told me his injuries were severe, but it looks like Naruto will pull through."

"That's good to hear."

A breief silence followed with only the beeping of monitors filling the room. Then Matsu asked, "What about Yoshida?"

Riku gave a heavy sigh and replied, "For his attempted kidnapping/assassination, Yoshida Hamachi was executed not an hour ago."

"I know it must have been difficult to order that dear. He was your brother after all. But the evidence was-"

"-the evidence was undeniable. I know. The scroll Nashikiri found on our attackers not only had Yoshida's handwriting written all over it, but also his personal seal stamped onto it too. It's just hard to accept that my own brother would hire ninja to assassinate us or failing that kidnap Toshi-chan," whispered back the daimyo. Matsu pulled him into an embrace and the two fell silent in the comfort of each other's arms.

* * *

Two weeks went by and having rooted out Yoshida's coconspirators with the help of Mifune Riku and his family were standing by the manor gates saying their goodbyes to the group. By now Naruto had fully recovered. In fact, it had only been a total of three days since being treated before he was back on his feet. The doctors were astounded by it. He had been able to heal what normally took a week in mere days! When asked how he did it, Naruto nonchalantly explained that he was an Uzumaki and their clan had always had faster healing rates than others.

"Daimyo-sama, it was an honor serving you for the past few weeks. My only regret is that Toru couldn't see it through to the end," said Mifune as he bid them goodbye.

"I share your sympathies Mifune-san. You have served me well both in protecting my family and in getting rid of Yoshida's companions. I'll be sure to remember that when the time to select a new general arrives. You can count on it," praised the Riku.

"Thank you, Daimyo-sama."

Seeing his chance Naruto took out a smooth black stone the size of his palm. It was oblong in shape and on it was carved the Uzumaki swirl. "Um here Toshi, I found it during the trip and carved my clan's symbol on it. I- I know you must have prettier things than this, but I was hoping you'd take it to remember me by. Who knows when we'll see each other again." Naruto offered her the polished black stone hoping she didn't find it inadequate.

Toshi gave him a reassuring smile and took the offered keepsake while saying, "You didn't need to give this to me to help me remember you. I'd never forget someone dear to me, and that means I'd never forget you Naruto-kun." She then leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on his cheek causing the Naruto to blush a deep red. "'To remember _me_ by'" quoted Toshi back with an emphasis on the "me". The daimyo as well as his guards were left dumbfounded, while Matsu giggled internally filing the moment away as teasing material for later. Mifune similarly couldn't wait to tell Kushina about this and see her expression.

"Um, right to remember you…" said Naruto distantly while cupping his cheek where Toshi had kissed him. Said girl was giggling at his reaction and carefully placed Naruto's stone into her pocket.

"Well, now that that's done we should head on home. Goodbye Daimyo-sama, Matsu-sama, Toshi-hime," said Nashikiri attempting to cut through the awkward atmosphere Toshi's kiss made.

"Yes, um, well goodbye and safe travels to you all," spoke Riku. After he had said this though he gave Naruto a warning look before smiling cheerily and waving. Naruto gulped and waved back before turning to leave all the while wondering what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

* * *

AN: So there we go. The first arc of Iron Whirlpools started and finished in the same chapter. I have to admit I struggled with this chapter. I had trouble coming up with character names and some of the interaction between the OCs. If you have any tips/suggestions like I said share em with me.

In regards to Naruto's use of Kage Bunshin. I chose to give him a limit to the number he could make as now that he isn't a jinchuriki he doesn't have near limitless chakra. Same with his healing factor. I've toned that down to just his Uzumaki blood limit. Also about giving Naruto the Mugenjin. I don't know anything about the anime it's from, so 'm sorry but I can't give Naruto the blade and do it justice at the same time. That being said, I will think about giving Naruto some sort of blade. Won't say either way. I personally prefer a skilled fighter over special weaponry, but that's just me.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, see ya next time. Oh and don't forget to leave reviews.


	5. Chapter 5: One Last Wish

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

It was late at night, at a time when normally all was silent and every person asleep. One mother, however, was wide awake as she anxiously awaited the return of her son. He had been away on duty with his sensei, and she had heard he had been injured. But that wasn't the only reason for her distress. She had news to tell him. Bad news. The kind that could break his heart and shatter his world. Suddenly she was overcome with nausea and rushed over to the kitchen sink. *Cough, cough, cough* globs of thick red blood came out with every cough and pooled around in the drain. It was a sign of her delipidating condition. _'It's getting worse with every passing day,'_ thought Kushina. _'The doctors said it was spreading fast, but I didn't think it'd be this bad already.'_

[Flash back]

 _She was in a small examination room. There was a pale light in the center of the ceiling, and all around her were scurrying nurses and buzzing doctors as they tried to figure out what exactly was ailing her. Kushina had undergone almost every diagnostic test possible, and the village's brightest were busily analyzing all the results. Hours had passed with her just being made to sit silently in the center of the room. Despite all that though, Kushina was still no closer to knowing what was going on with her body. She had been feeling incredibly fatigued for the past month, and this morning Maki had found her passed out on the floor of her home. It was Maki who had finally brought her to the hospital. Kushina had thought her friend was over reacting, but thought better of it after she caught whisperings of "possible new pathogen", "cell irregularities", and finally "blood disorder". None of those sounded good to Kushina and so it was no surprise when she quite suddenly cracked and screamed, "WOULD SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ME?" She was on the verge of tears as the stress and fatigue started to overtake her. One Doctor Ogawa gently pulled away from her station and calmly answered Kushina._

 _"*sigh* Look I'll be honest with you Uzumaki-san; we don't actually know what's wrong with you. None of us here have seen anything like it before. You see when we ran all those diagnostic tests, all of them came up normal, except one. Your blood test. There appears to be an irregularity in the components of your blood. For one thing, you seem to have an extreme excess amount of white blood cells. Normally these cells attack viruses and bacteria and are very helpful to a person's body, but you have so many that your red blood cell – the ones that provide oxygen to the body – counts are extremely low. We believe this is why you've been feeling fatigued as of late as well as why you passed out earlier today. If that wasn't enough these white blood cells aren't functioning properly either and are wreaking havoc on your other organs. Like I've said before this is a first in all of Tetsu no Kuni, and we aren't quite sure how to proceed. Please give us more time, meanwhile you need to stay in the hospital. We can't be sure this isn't contagious and this way you'll be right here if we need to run more tests or come up with a cure."_

 _Shocked to hear that they had no clue what was wrong with her Kushina tentatively asked, "Is it deadly Doctor Ogawa?"_

 _"Right now, no, but if this gets any worse you'll die without a cure."_

 _"I – I understand. Would it be ok to be moved to a different room? If I'm going to be staying here then I'd like to at least have a bed."_

 _"Well we are done taking samples for now. I suppose it'd be alright. Try and get some rest I'll see you in the morning Uzumaki-san."_

[Flash back end]

That was over two weeks ago on the same day that Naruto and company had left to go to the capitol. Kushina had been kept in the hospital for about a week and a half before the doctors deemed it not contagious. That was where the good news ended though. They still haven't been able to develop a cure and even worse, the disease seemed to be progressing at an alarming rate. The doctors had given Kushina an estimated 3 months before she'd succumb completely to her illness.

 _'I don't want to admit it, but I can't find it in me to believe they'll find a cure in time,'_ thought Kushina despairingly. _'What will I tell Naruto? How can I tell him that his Ka-chan is dying? He's still just a boy, he needs me now more than ever.'_ Right then, the person of her thoughts opened the front door loudly and excitedly entered the kitchen.

"Ka-chan I'm back! And you won't believe all the stories I have to tell you. Some of them aren't so good though…" said Naruto distantly as he remembered Toru's sacrifice in the line of duty. "But some were. Like the daimyo's manor. He had this huge garden with almost every known plant in the elemental nations in it. There were beautiful pagodas, arrangements, and landscapes all over the place. You would have loved it!" ranted Naruto, but when he looked at Kushina, he saw that his Ka-chan was holding back tears while looking down at her feet. The look unnerved Naruto, and gave him a sense of foreboding. "Ka-chan? What's wrong?"

Sniffling and wiping her tears with her sleeve Kushina replied, "There's something I have to tell you Naru-chan."

* * *

Several weeks passed since the day Naruto found out his mother was quickly fading away. At first, he couldn't bring himself to accept it, and continued on like nothing was wrong. However, when Kushina started weakening further to the point that she was forced to be bedridden, Naruto accepted that soon his time with his mother may very well come to an end. It was a bitter truth to the boy who, despite having lost his father already, had never truly witnessed a loved one die. It was torture to him as he was utterly powerless to help his mother. The most he could do was keep her company at the hospital and pray to Kami that she would be healed. So that's what he did. Every minute of every day was spent with his Ka-chan. Today had been no different, and when Kushina woke in the middle of the night she was surprised to find Naruto still by her side.

"Naru-chan, you're still here? You should have gone home by now. You need you're rest too. Besides, it can't be healthy for a boy your age to stay inside all the time. You should be out with some friends having fun," whispered Kushina weakly.

"I could never abandon you like that Ka-chan. No matter what, I want to spend each and every last minute I have with you to the fullest," was her son's earnest response.

"That's sweet of you Naru-chan, and thank you. It means a lot to have you here close to me." A brief silence came after Kushina had said this as mother and son simply tried to enjoy what little time they had with each other left. The moment was broken, however, when Kushina spoke up with her whisper like voice again. "You know I had planned to go for a vacation this month for your birthday. We were supposed to go to down to Yu no Kuni (Land of Hot Springs) and see the sights before catching a boat in Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves) and travelling to Uzu Island. I was going to show you Uzushiogakure, the place our family used to call home. It was going to be so special. I even had all the tickets and supplies ready to go," said Kushina tearfully. "But instead I'm stuck here and will leave you alone in a matter of weeks. I must be the worst Ka-chan to have ever existed."

"Please don't say that. You don't know that for certain. The doctors, they can still find a cure Ka-chan. We can't ever lose hope. You told me that, remember? And you're the best Ka-chan anyone could ask for not the worst. You've loved me, took care of me, trained me to be strong, taught me lessons no one else could teach. I love you, and you're a baka for even thinking otherwise Ka-chan."

His words got to Kushina and her spirits where immediately lifted. Strange how the love mother and son could be capable of such a thing, but then again if one takes a moment and thinks, it really isn't. Smiling at Naruto, Kushina let out a soft laugh and said, "If I weren't so tired I'd make you regret calling me a baka. This is your Ka-chan you're talking to." With that Kushina slowly closed her eyes and went back to sleep. The exhaustion finally getting to her.

"I know you would. Good night Ka-chan," said Naruto though no one was listening.

* * *

[Some time later that night]

*knock knock knock* "Come in," called out Takara Ogawa. She was currently busy filling out folder after folder of paper work and was hoping to receive a small reprieve from whoever wanted to see her.

"Doctor Ogawa?"

Without looking up from her papers the doctor addressed her visitor. "Yes, that's me. Don't just stand there, come in and have seat," she ordered sternly. Though, upon seeing that it was Naruto she was taking to, Takara's face took on a gentler expression, and if one looked closely they would see a sudden despondency take over as well.

Naruto nodded before closing the door behind him and doing as the woman asked. "You wanted to see me at the end of the day and so here I am doctor. Is this about my Ka-chan? Have you been able to find a cure?" asked Naruto with a desperate sort of hope that broke Takara's heart.

"I'm sorry Naruto-san, but I'm afraid me and my colleagues have hit a dead end with her treatment. The disease afflicting your mother is spreading too fast for us to handle. In the beginning, it was only her blood that was an issue, but now the damage has also gone over to several organs. Her body is gradually killing itself Naruto-san. There isn't much we can do at this point past sedating her and making her as comfortable as we can. That's why I asked you in tonight. Gomen-nasai."

With that Naruto's world shattered as what little hope he clung to was taken away. He felt like yelling at the woman. He wanted to tell her, she was wrong, that his Ka-chan would get better, that there was a way to save her. There always was, there had to be. There just had to be. But looking at the woman's bowed head Naruto knew, deep down that she was telling the truth. His mother was dying, and there was no way to stop it from happening. Beginning to tear up Naruto asked gravely, "How – how much time does she have left before," He wasn't able to complete the sentence.

"He condition is worsening faster than we expected and at the rate it's going, I'm sorry to say that your mother will only last a little over a week. We've already taken the liberty of moving her to a more comfortable room for the duration of her stay. Please, if there is anything else we can do, don't hesitate to ask," said Takara to Naruto.

At that Naruto nodded numbly and returned back to his vigil over his mother.

* * *

Kushina awoke the next morning to find herself in a different room from than the one she had fallen asleep in last night. Curiously she looked around the room and noted the differences between it and her previous arrangement. There was a television set (which her other room lacked) in front of her as well as a wide window with a view of the village. Looking outside, Kushina could tell it was going to be a beautiful day. Too bad she and Naruto would probably spend the entire day indoors again. What she'd give for a couple hours out of this damned hospital. The place was suffocating and not to mention monotonous. Then as if in defiance of her thoughts the door to her room opened unexpectedly and in came a smiling Naruto carrying a tray with eggs, bacon, orange juice and toast. The meal was cooked just the way she liked them, eggs over easy and the bacon slightly charred. The smell was heavenly to Kushina. She could hardly remember the last time she had a decent meal like this. All she ever got these days was tasteless hospital food. _"I have to wonder though, why the sudden change in menu?"_

As if he read her mind Naruto quickly answered, "Morning Ka-chan. The other day you mentioned how much you didn't like the hospital food they gave you here, so I thought I'd surprise you with a little something. I was able to get the staff to let me use the kitchen and made this for you." Gently, he laid the tray on her lap and said, "Enjoy."

Kushina eyed him suspiciously. There was something off about the whole thing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "I see. Is there something I'm missing here Naru-chan? The hospital staff would have never allowed you to make me this unless something happened. I was on a strict diet they made to maximize my healing you know. I may not have liked the food, but it was necessary."

Naruto's smile faded at that and he replied, "Eat first Ka-chan. I'll tell you after you've had breakfast."

Kushina reluctantly nodded and began digging into her breakfast. She finished quickly, mainly because she wanted to know what Naruto had to say and because the taste of real food was too good and Kushina had promptly chowed down with a passion. Now that breakfast was over though she turned expectantly to her son and said, "Well?"

With eyes averted, Naruto took a deep breath and started recounting what Dr. Ogawa had told him the previous night. At the end of it all Kushina was left speechless. She had prepared herself for the possibility that a cure would not be found, but hearing it said still rattled her mind. She was going to die, and soon at that. However, before Kushina could utter a response Naruto looked up at her and said, "Ka-chan, the doctors, they… they estimate that you'll only last a week." He paused for a moment letting the information sink in before continuing. "Ka-chan please say something."

At that the damn Kushina had built to keep her tears away fell, and she sobbed. Great glistening tear drops streamed down her face, and her cries came out choked and weary. After a time, the woman got a hold of herself and looked at her son. "A week. That's all I have left," Kushina said despondently.

Naruto nodded and replied, "Hai, Ka-chan."

"Then if I could I'd like to make one last request Naru-chan." Naruto leaned forward and expectantly looked at his mother. "I'd like to see Uzushiogakure again, and be buried there. I know it's tradition for spouses to be buried next to each other, but I don't think your father would mind. Please Naru-chan, promise me you'll take me back to Uzu."

"I promise Ka-chan."

"Thank you."

* * *

[Five days later]

Naruto and Kushina were on Uzu island. They had boarded the _Starlight_ , the passenger ship Kushina had gotten in contact with prior to her sickness, from Nami no Kuni and took it all the way to Uzu. The pair was lucky all the travel plans had already been made for when Kusina planned to take Naruto to Uzu on his birthday. All it had taken was some quick changes so that their route took them straight to Uzu Island and the two had been off. Though it had taken three days before the ship reached Uzu. Three days during which Kushina weakened further. It was because of this that the doctors had advised against the trip, arguing that the strain could worsen Kushina's condition, but Kushina waved them off by morbidly pointing out that she was going to die soon anyway.

Once the _Starlight_ had landed on Uzu Island Naruto and Kushina had had to trek through the forest surrounding Uzushiogakure. Relying on Kushina's memory the two of them were able to reach the village on the 5th day since leaving Tetsu no Kuni. Currently they were camping out on top of a cliff overlooking the village. "How are you doing Ka-chan?" asked Naruto tentatively. The journey had taken quite a lot from Kushina, especially the hike through the forest.

Breathing heavily, she replied, "I'm doing fine Naru-chan. Just need to catch my breath is all. Let's just take a five-minute break, and we can go down to the village itself." It was clear to Naruto though that his mother was not fine, though she was better than he had expected her to be. After all she had been bedridden for weeks, and it was a miracle that she had been able to walk on her own for so long.

"No, you're not. And if you think I'm going to let you keep going like this you're wrong Ka-chan," was the stern reply she received.

Trying to reason with him Kushina said, "But Naru-chan, we're so close. We can't stop now."

"Then I'll carry you the rest of the way, but I can't just watch you suffer anymore," said Naruto in finality.

Kushina sighed. "Alright then, have it your way Naru-chan." With that Naruto picked up Kushina and carried her piggy back style down to Uzushiogakure itself.

* * *

AN: SO... yeah... I'm killing Kushina off. Surprise? Anyways I do apologize as this chapter is shorter than normal but took longer to write. (For obvious reasons) Also cuz there wasn't any action in the chapter like at all.

On a side note if you're interested as to what Kushina has, well I'll just tell you. In this chapter she developed a form of Leukemia, and I just can't see the Naruto-verse being able to handle cancer like we can today so that's why it was referred to as a "new" disease by Kushina's doctors. Personally, I think that cannon Itachi suffered from it as well. Well thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6: Ronin

AN: Here it is the 6th chapter of Iron Whirlpools. I'm very excited to say that we are getting close to when Naruto will move to Konoha. I've been anxiously waiting to get to this point in the story. Anyways on with the story!

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Naruto ran along the streets of Uzushiogakure. All around him were the ruins of Uzu. Everywhere he looked tall high rising buildings lay in broken heaps. The streets were filled with rubble and around alleyways and corners the signs of struggle were apparent. Scorch marks ran rampant along the walls of most buildings indicating katon jutsus, and sometimes he even ran into fuinjutsu traps left behind by the Uzumaki. Luckily Kushina knew her way around the village and was able to direct Naruto away from anything dangerous as they traversed Uzu's ruins. Still, despite the damage the village sustained, it was a spectacular site, and Naruto noted as much as his Ka-chan led him through all her old stomping grounds and recounted stories from her childhood. They had spent the better part of the day just exploring the ruins, with Kushina reacquainting herself with her old home and Naruto taking the sights all in. This was their home, where his family used to live and where many had died defending. It was hallowed ground to the boy and he wanted to remember it all. Currently, they decided to take a short break by a wide river that ran through Uzu. Naruto was thankful for the short reprieve since he had been carrying his Ka-chan the whole time they were out and was starting to tire. He placed her gently down next to one of the buildings nearby and went to refill their water canisters at the river. Once he finished, Naruto returned to where he left Kushina and offered her the drink. "Here you go Ka-chan. Drink, you need to keep up your strength."

Kushina took the offered cup and said, "Thank you Naru-chan," before gulping down some water. "We're close to the last place I wanted to visit you know. It's right over that bridge and over the hill on the other side," mentioned Kushina.

Naruto then turned to look at what his Ka-chan was talking about. It was far away from the rest of the village but Naruto shrugged it off reasoning that his Ka-chan knew where she was going. He nodded at her before saying, "Just give me five minutes Ka-chan. We've been going all day and I'm starting to feel a bit tired."

"Okay Naru-chan. Take it easy we aren't in a hurry. Besides I could use a break too. It's been hours since lunch and I could go for some of the rations we brought right about now," replied Kushina.

At that Naruto took a scroll from one of his pockets and unsealed a couple packs of the food. They then ate in comfortable silence before getting up and heading to the spot Kushina indicated earlier. When they got there, Naruto found himself in the middle of a small field. There was a great willow tree in the middle and in front of it were three small mounds. Upon arriving Kushina mustered up the strength to stand on her own and unsealed a pair of incense sticks. She then approached the mounds underneath the willow tree. Naruto followed after her and once they got closer Naruto found that at the head of each mound were two logs tied together in a cross shape. At the center of each cross was carved a name. Off to the side of the ensemble was a simple bowl-shaped incense burner into which Kushina placed the two slender sticks and lit them. After she had done this, Kushina proceeded to kneel down and began to pray. Meanwhile, Naruto respectfully sat next to her and waited for her to finish. Once she was, Naruto decided to ask the questions that had been on his mind since arriving. "Where are we Ka-chan? And whose graves are those?"

Looking around them Kushina replied, "This was my special get away from the village. A small spot where I could be by myself and train or just mill about when things got too stressful. As for those graves, well they're where your oji-san, oba-san and my nee-san lie. I found their bodies in the wreckage a couple days after the attack on Uzu, and so I took them here and buried them. This field was one of the few places left untouched by all the damage, mainly because it was out of the way and held no importance to the invaders."

Not knowing what to say to her, Naruto settled for wrapping his arms around his Ka-chan and snuggled into her shoulder. He was still a good deal smaller than Kushina though, and so she ended up cradling the boy in her arms instead. Still she appreciated the gesture and continued, "You know I didn't find this place on my own. Your oji-san took me here after I graduated from the academy. That was when he told me about the clan's nindo. Duty, Honor, and Family he said. I always held his words closely and tried my best to live by them." Kuhina then pulled Naruto closer to herself before saying, "But when the village was sacked only myself and a few other clan members I didn't know escaped. However, our attackers gave chase, and I was separated from the main group of survivors. And when all was said and done, I lost all of my loved ones and with them the three things our family treasured most. I had no duty anymore since the village was gone, and I lost my honor during the following months. I had to steal, cheat, and even kill to survive. But my greatest loss came with family. I was all alone then Naru-chan, there was no one left aside from myself. Eventually, though I made my way out of Uzu and into Tetsu no Kuni where I met your father and had you. You two were the ones who gave me back my family, my sense of duty and honor." Pausing to collect her thoughts, Kushina gently rubbed his forehead with her own before continuing, "I don't know when I'll leave you Naru-chan, but I feel that it's close. Before I die though I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all the years you spent with me, for loving me and allowing me to love you. . . Thank you for letting me become a mother, your mother."

After Kushina had said this, Naruto dug his face into the crook of her neck and cried, "I love you Ka-chan." Kushina in return placed her lips onto the top of his head, kissed him and replied, "I love you too Naru-chan."

* * *

The next morning Naruto awoke to find himself still in the clearing with the willow tree. He was holding onto Kushina who he had apparently used as a pillow for the night. _"We must have fallen asleep out here yesterday,"_ thought Naruto. He gently freed himself from Kushina and rocked her to wake the woman up. When he didn't get a response, Naruto shook her a bit harder and said, "Ka-chan, c'mon Ka-chan it's time to wake up. We'll catch something if we stay out any longer." Still not getting a response Naruto began to get worried and panicked. "Wake up Ka-chan. Wake up. This isn't funny. Please. KA-CHAN!" yelled the boy, though despite his pleas Kushina didn't stir at all. Finally, Naruto placed a hand on her neck trying to feel for a pulse. He found none, and it was then that he noticed how cold his mother's skin was and how her chest lied still. She was dead. His mother had gone during the night and Naruto hadn't been able to say goodbye. Getting a hold of himself Naruto tearfully straightened her body and went to the willow. There he started digging, all the while tears flowed freely from his face.

By noon Naruto had finished his work and he kneeled in front of Kushina's freshly dug grave. She would have wanted to be buried here right next to her family from Uzu. Naruto was willing to bet that, that was the whole point behind showing him the place. He hated having to bury her. He could still remember the blank look she had as he carried her over and placed her into the ground. It felt wrong to Naruto to see her like that, without her usual vibrance, but then again there was nothing right about this situation anyway.

Standing up Naruto took the last of the incense they brought and placed them in the incense bowl nearby. He then retook his kneeling position and prayed one last goodbye to his mother. _'Ka-chan if you're listening I want you to know that I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye, and that I promise to someday come back to see you here at your willow tree again. I miss you so much already Ka-chan. Please give me strength to carry on. You always said to 'never give up' and I won't. I promise to always remember the lessons you taught me. And most of all I promise to always remember you. I love you Ka-chan, goodbye.'_ With that the last of the incense burned and Naruto leaped away back to their camp outside Uzu.

* * *

A couple weeks later Naruto was found meditating in the middle of a training field in Tetsu no Kuni. He had taken his time travelling home from Uzu thinking on his mother the whole trip back, and when he had returned to Tetsu no Kuni Naruto had immediately set himself about his training. There were simply too many reminders of his mother in the village, and if he didn't distract himself Naruto would crack. So, every day Naruto trained himself to sleep with most nights ending with him falling asleep in a training area and waking up there to start the cycle all over again. He only ever left for food and a change of clothes which he learned to stock pile into scrolls so that his breaks were few and far between. This wasn't healthy, and Mifune had lectured him about it suggesting Naruto meditate to find the peace Kushina's loss took with her. He was currently attempting it while several of his clones were working elsewhere. However, meditation proved to do anything but settle his mind as in this state Naruto instinctively went into ninshu. Normally this would have left Naruto feeling at ease, but now it just left him more troubled. The reason was because while using ninshu he literally felt the loss of his Ka-chan. There was a hole in his world where he knew his Ka-chan used to be. He could no longer feel her bright red-hot chakra that he had grown accustomed to, and it left a bitter taste in the boy's mouth. Just as his anguish was beginning to reach the tipping point a small pebble hit his forehead knocking Naruto over and ending his meditation session. Looking up he found himself staring down at Maki who had a smirk on her face as she tossed another pebble up and caught it with her hand.

"How's my favorite gaki? Heard you took Kushina-chan on a trip while I was away on duty. Where is she anyway? Have the doctors found a cure?" asked Maki unintentionally opening up the very topic Naruto did not want to talk about. She had been away with a platoon of samurai running military exercises in the mountains since Naruto had gotten back to the village from his trip with the daimyo, and so didn't know about Kushina's passing.

"Leave me alone Maki-sensei," replied Naruto bitterly.

 _'Alright something is definitely up. The kid was brooding earlier and if that isn't strange then this definitely is. He's never been so cold to anyone before. What happened while I was gone?'_ Maki thought to herself before saying, "Look Naruto I haven't seen you or your Ka-chan in months. I just wanted to say hi and catch up, no need to be so cold to me. You want to be alone? Fine. But tell me where I can find your Ka-chan so I can at least see how she's doing. I went to the hospital earlier looking for her, but they said she'd been released a couple weeks ago."

Unknown to Maki, however, was that as she continued to chatter away, Naruto was tearing up for the first time since arriving. Without warning, all of Naruto's pent up emotions suddenly unloaded on Maki. "MY KA-CHAN'S DEAD! ALRIGHT? She died a couple weeks ago on our trip to Uzu. The doctors, they couldn't find a cure in time and I. . . *sniffle* I took her to Uzu to see her old home. She died a couple days after we arrived, and I buried her there. It was her last request. There. Now you know so just leave me alone!" Taken aback by his outburst and the news that one of her dear friends had passed away, Maki wasn't able to respond to Naruto. Seeing her just standing there staring at him Naruto began making his way out of the training ground while saying heatedly, "Fine, if you don't want to leave, I'll go instead."

That finally knocked Maki out of her stupor and she turned and grabbed his arm before he could make it past her. Maki expected him to turn and hit her given his state or at least glare at her, but instead when Naruto turned around she found him in tears. Maki too had genuine sorrow etched on her face and didn't mind at all when Naruto suddenly threw himself at her and cried into her ample chest. "Tell me everything Naruto," said Maki trying to console him. The boy clearly had been holding it all in and needed an outlet more than she did right now, so Maki sat down as Naruto told her in detail what happened after she left. At the end of it all Maki's heart went out to the boy, and she clasped him on the shoulder and said, "Naruto, look at me. I know your angry and scared and in pain right now, and I know nothing I say can make it all go away, but I will say this. Your Ka-chan loved you Naruto, and even in death she still does. Even if you can't feel her chakra anymore I promise you her love is still with you. And you have me here for you as well. You aren't alone in this Naruto, so don't push us away. C'mon I'll take you home from what you've told me you haven't been back there for quite some time. You need to rest."

She stood up but Naruto was reluctant to. Maki turned to him expecting Naruto to follow after her but instead she heard him mutter, "I don't want to go back home right now sensei. Too many memories and things of Ka-chan are there. It's why I've stayed out here all this time."

At that Maki replied, "Well then you can stay at my place if you'd like. I have the extra room and besides this isn't a time to be without company." Naruto nodded and said his thanks before gathering his things and running after Maki.

* * *

A few days later Naruto was seen walking down the streets of the village on his way to meet with Mifune for his lessons. He still felt saddened by Kushina's death, but Maki was slowly bringing him out of what she had dubbed his "brooder phase". As he turned a corner though a hand grabbed his shoulder, and he whipped around expecting to see Maki, instead however, he was met with a group of 3 boys he recognized as sons of several prominent samurai. They were older than Naruto by about two years and were among the ones that liked to pick on him from time to time. Grunting in annoyance Naruto addressed them each by name, "Shingen, Noburo, Etsuji, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The boys where arranged in the order Naruto greeted them with Shingen on the right and Estuji on the left. Shingen had brown hair reminiscent of Konoha's Inuzuka clan, as well as a well-built body for his age. Noburo, Shingen's brother, was similar in appearance only he was slightly taller. Finally, Etsuji, the scrawniest of the bunch, had pitch black hair, dark brown eyes and a sharp nose. All three were wearing their academy uniforms which consisted of a white keikogi shirt and black hakama pants tied at the waist with a black belt.

"Well me and the boys have noticed that you've stopped attending the academy seminars. We meant to ask you why but for the past couple of months you have been very hard to find," answered Shingen.

"It's really none of your business Shingen, but I will tell you that I've been out of the village lately on both missions and a personal trip. That's all you need to know. Now if you'll excuse me Mifune-sensei is waiting for me," was the curt reply they got from Naruto.

"Watch your tongue brat. You may be skilled with a blade, but we still outrank you in both age and in influence. Our families are some of Tetsu no Kuni's finest and most upstanding, while your's has only ever been average at best," spat Noburo acidly. He then swiftly added, "Why Master Mifune would choose a commoner like you as his apprentice over elites like us still baffles me."

Realizing Noburo was only trying to egg him on, Naruto kept his cool and said, "I couldn't care less what you think of my family Noburo. And after all these years you're still pining after that apprenticeship? Quit dreaming, and stop being such a jealous little samurai."

"Huh," the third boy of the group scoffed. "I for one am not confused as to why Mifune-san chose Uzumaki," commented Etsuji, surprising the rest of the boys, Naruto included. Etsuji had always been the cruelest of the bunch with a penchant for spitting out vitriol at opponents, and this kind of sympathy was strange coming from him. He made up for it though with his next sentence, "His mother must have struck a deal with Mifune-san and whored herself out to him so that Naruto could be trained by a true samurai. It explains a lot actually, between the apprenticeship and the village's acceptance of a ninja despite knowing how treacherous they can be."

Naruto's hands began to clench into fists at Etsuji's theory. He could handle insults thrown at him and even beatings, but no one. No one was going to desecrate Kushina's memory in front of him and get away with it. And so, a dark look appeared on Naruto's face and he looked down at his feet trying to reign in his anger. He couldn't cause a spectacle here in the middle of the street where everyone would see. It wouldn't bode well for him especially since these three had such a high standing amongst the village. Slowly Naruto said to Etsuji, "Take. That. Back. My mother would never had stooped so low. Take it back!"

Seeing that he had struck a nerve in the redhead Etsuji smirked and added, "No, I won't because it's the truth. She was a kunoichi wasn't she? Everyone knows what kunoichi end up doing somewhere along the line. But since you're not the brightest of the bunch I'll tell you. Kunoichi are the worst of all ninja, they sleep with anyone they need to, only to assassinate the man in the process. They have no honor. The lot of them are simply harlots who wield chakra." This served only to anger Naruto further, and he was now shaking with rage.

Noburo seeing how Etsuji was affecting Naruto decided to add his own two cents into the conversation. "Truer words were never spoken, Etsuji's got it right. Even my Tou-san told me as much. Right Shingen?"

Shingen smirked at his brother and replied, "Yeah, he told me the same thing Otouto. Hey, say Naruto didn't your Ka-chan die of some new disease a couple weeks back? I'm pretty sure I heard someone talking about it. It wouldn't surprise me to hear it was a result of all her 'nightly activities'. They're only now discovering all sorts of things you can get from sleeping with too many partners. I believe they call them STDs. If that's the case – and it probably is – then I'd say she deserved what she got for being such a whore."

That was the last straw for Naruto and his control suddenly snapped. He had once been told by Maki that when angry Naruto could match his mother's own fierceness that had earned her the moniker "The Red Hot Blooded Habanero", and today Naruto unleashed that same fury on the three in front of him, causing the trio to start running down the street away from the redhead. Naruto ran after them in pursuit intending to teach them all a lesson. His anger had clouded his judgement so much that Naruto even went so far as to draw his katana on them. The three boys were in decent shape, however, and were able to avoid Naruto to a degree, but they were eventually chased down to a warehouse in the market area of town. Seeing that they were cornered by the redhead the three tried to split up in an attempt to try to confuse Naruto. However, they were stopped dead in their tracks when Naruto called out, **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."** Immediately four more Narutos popped out of thin air and corralled Shingen and his friends. Left with no other choice Shingen ran inside of the warehouse, and up the stairs hoping to get away from the crazed redhead. His companions were quick to follow his example and entered the building as well. Frustrated that his quarry just kept on running Naruto let out a yell, "Come back here you bastards!" With that Naruto and his clones followed after the three.

Running up the steps Naruto eventually found Shingen, Noburo, and Etsuji on the rooftop. The three had their bokken's drawn and were trying their best not to cower in front of Naruto and his very real katana. They knew that if he decided to use it, then Naruto could easily kill all three of them. But Naruto wouldn't be stupid enough to do that right? They were noble heirs of their families and the consequences of harming even a hair on their head would be dire. The redhead would have to be crazy to attempt anything. Unfortunately for them Naruto was still recovering from Kushina's death and their ridicules only made him more volatile and less likely to see reason.

"Stay back Uzumaki. You will not take another step towards us," commanded Shingen calmly. Naruto paid him no mind and continued advancing towards them.

"You know I don't care if you insult me or the rest of my family. I don't even care if you beat me to a pulp, but never, ever bad mouth my Ka-chan like that again. Do you hear me? Now take back what you said and apologize or I'll-" said Naruto only to be cut off by Noburo.

"Or what huh Uzumaki? You can't touch us, and like hell I'll ever apologize to the likes of you. In fact, instead of apologizing I'd scream out to the whole village how your beloved Ka-chan was such a," said Noburo but before he could finish Naruto had rushed up to him and kneed him in the gut before shoving him backwards, hard. Unfortunately, Noburo was standing near the edge when this happened and was promptly pushed off the side of the four-story building. "Whoa, whoa, ahh!" cried Noburo as he teetered on the edge and promptly fell to the street below. All three of the remaining boys stood stock still in shock, Shingen and Estuji due to never thinking that Naruto would be capable of such a thing, and Naruto because he had only meant to push Noburo back a bit never intending to kill the boy. _'Shit. Noburo. . .'_ thought Naruto.

Etsuji was the first to react to what had happened to his friend and rushed down the steps to see if Noburo was alright. Shingen on the other hand lunged at Naruto with his bokken and screamed, "How could you? He was my brother!" Not knowing how to respond Naruto was only able to sheath his katana and take the blows Shingen gave him. Several samurai guards suddenly came running down the street towards where all the commotion was at, and upon arriving at the scene separated Shingen and Naruto. The guards then proceeded to restrain the both of them. On the ground, some more guards picked up a wailing Etsuji off Noburo before a medic assessed the downed 12-year-old and shook his head signaling that Noburo was indeed dead. There was a crowd of people looking on at the scene and some had horrified gasps on the faces while others leveled dangerous glares at Naruto. They had witnessed everything, from the chase to the confrontation on the rooftop. Naruto merely kept his head bowed down and tried to ignore their whisperings. Things did not look good for him at all.

* * *

Naruto sat chained in one of the samurai's detention facilities awaiting his sentence for the murder of Fujiwara Noburo. It had been several days since he was taken in and the council was still debating what to do with him. Normally, he would have already been executed for not only attacking a fellow student, but also because Noburo was from the Fujiwara family, one of the four noble samurai families of Tetsu no Kuni. The only reason he had lasted as long as he did was because Mifune was speaking on his behalf along with the Iron Daimyo. The two were using what political weight they had to try and spare the boy. Naruto though wasn't sure it'd be enough. Even with the daimyo on his side, the politics of it all would prevent him from outright pardoning Naruto because if the Iron Daimyo did such a thing he would undoubtedly draw the ire of the Fujiwara family along with their allies. Something like that would not appeal to any daimyo. Suddenly the door to Naruto's cell opened and in walked Maki Noharu. She was carrying a bundle of cloths and had a worried look on her face. "Naruto, quick I'm breaking you out of here," whispered Maki as she fumbled with the keys to Naruto's chains. "Daimyo-sama, he sent me and a couple other trusted guards to get you out. They plan on having you commit seppuku in the morning to pay for your crime," informed Maki. She then handed Naruto a bundle of clothes and said, "Here take this and change out of those prison garbs. You'll blend in better this way. Now let's go, and hurry we need to go before the real guards come back." Naruto hurriedly followed Maki out of his cell after taking the bundle of clothes and changing into them.

"Maki-sensei wait," called out Naruto prompting Maki to look back at him expectantly. "What will happen to me? You said they want me to commit seppuku. I can accept that. I killed Noburo, Maki-sensei, I deserve less. I forsook my honor when I lost control of my anger then, but this way I can gain that back and die with dignity. Why then are you taking that away from me?" questioned Naruto who was genuinely ready to die the next day.

Hearing Naruto say those words caused Maki's throat to tighten and she said, "Because Naruto, you need to live. You don't deserve the fate that awaits you in the morning. Yes, you did a horrible thing, but that doesn't mean you should die for it. Everyone makes mistakes Naruto, but you can rise above yours. Don't be so quick to end your life, you don't deserve it."

"But Maki-sensei I do," Naruto pleaded.

"No, you don't. All you were trying to do was stand up for your Ka-chan's memory,right? No one can fault you for that. I read the reports, those boys were not backing down. I know you Naruto, and I know that you wouldn't have intentionally killed Noburo like that. You're a kind and loving person Naruto-chan. I feel as much whenever I use ninshu. There's a goodness inside your heart, like a beacon full of warmth and hope. Even now I can feel it along with the remorse you feel over Noburo's death," Maki said passionately. A few moments passed as she let her words sink in to Naruto, and afterwards she added, "It was an accident that killed Noburo, wasn't it?"

At that Naruto looked down at the floor and said, "Hai, I didn't realize we were so close to the edge when I came at him. I even tried to reach out to Noburo, but he fell before I could catch him. It's still my fault he's dead though Maki-sensei. My own damn fault."

"Yes, but you shouldn't die because of it. You should be given a second chance instead. A chance to right your wrong that's what you need, not to have your life taken from you. Only those who wished true harm on others deserve what you'll face tomorrow if you stay. Daimyo-sama himself believes this, and so does Mifune-san. Unfortunately, they are the minority in the vote and can do nothing to stop it from happening. So now your only chance is if we get you out of Tetsu no Kuni before it's too late," urged Maki, but Naruto still didn't move. Groaning at his stubbornness Maki softly said, "Your Ka-chan would want you to live you know."

At the mention of Kushina Naruto looked up at Maki and quietly assented. He then started moving towards the exit and asked, "But if I can't stay here in Tetsu no Kuni anymore then where will I go Maki-sensei?"

"To Knonoha. Daimyo-sama has sent a special request that you be taken in there, and there's always the possibility of other Uzumaki living in the village so you should be more than welcome. From what I understand your clan and the people of Konohagakure no Sato had been close before Uzu's destruction, so you'll be safe at the least," answered Maki.

Naruto nodded and replied, "Okay then sensei have it your way, but I'll need to stop by my house to pick up my things first then we can head out."

* * *

[Later that evening at Naruto's house]

It was the middle of the night, and the new moon was up in the skies making it so that only the stars shined. It was on this night that a little redheaded boy was seen crouching in the stillness of his own home. Next to him were a handful of the daimyo's most trusted along with his sensei/Aunt. The boy was quickly sealing all his valuables into scrolls for the long journey ahead of him. Pictures, clothes, and other paraphernalia were all carefully placed into various scrolls which were then placed into a giant master scroll that he had strapped horizontally across his back. Along with those scrolls also came his mother's prized jutsu and fuinjutsu notes. They were the heritage he was left with after her passing and the boy would rather be damned than leave them behind. Once all of it was put away a knock suddenly rang through the home and the people inside tensed. Maki signaled for them all to hide and when she was satisfied all were safely tucked away in the shadows, she answered the door. There to greet her was Mifune. He was holding two official looking scrolls in one hand and in the other a strange looking katana. Maki quickly pulled the man inside and shut the door behind them. The two entered the living room where the rest of their group had convened after seeing it was only Mifune at the door.

"Sorry it took so long to get here. After I got your message, me and Hamachi-sama got held up by some council members. He's still back there stalling for me. Where's Naruto?" said Mifune hurriedly.

"I'm right here sensei," Naruto replied stepping out from behind a samurai.

"Naruto, my boy. Come here please," said Mifune as he kneeled down to Naruto's level and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "I'm so sorry I couldn't do more for you, and that my last goodbye is so brief. But I want you to know that despite everything that has happened, you have made me proud as my apprentice. Take these scrolls, one of them is from Hamachi-sama and the other is for you to show the Hokage once you arrive at the Hidden Leaf. There should be directions to the village inside the scroll Hamachi-sama made for you." As he said this Mifune handed Naruto the two scrolls he was holding and afterwards he then offered Naruto the katana in his other hand. "And this is from me. It's my parting gift for you apprentice." Naruto took the offered blade and unsheathed it. He let out a small gasp at what he saw. It was a beautiful sword that was made out of a pitch-black metal. It was longer than his own katana and seemed to let out no sound when he sheathed and unsheathed it.

"Thank you, Mifune-sensei. It's absolutely beautiful," thanked Naruto.

"Your welcome. It's made from a special chakra metal fond in Kaminari no Kuni. With it flowing your chakra through the blade will come far more naturally. Additionally, I had the metal blackened to help you when stealth is necessary. Ninja don't fight fair, and I'm afraid where you'll be going you will need every advantage you can get Naruto. I had hoped to give this to you after I deemed that you had mastered all I had to teach, but it seems fate has other plans. Use it well Naruto, and never forget the lessons I taught. A samurai is just, merciful, polite. He is honest, loyal and controlled. He has patience, and he has honor," advised Mifune sagely. "Let the recent events prove to be a reminder of what happens when a warrior strays from this path, but lastly, know that no matter what you did, you will always be my student and that you will always have a special place in my heart." With that Mifune bid farewell to his student and hurried back to the shogun's tower where the rest of the council members were adjourned.

Naruto sheathed his new blade and strapped it across his back alongside his other katana. He then turned to Maki and said, "I'm ready Maki-sensei; let's go."

* * *

AN: So the last chapter didn't go over as well as I had hoped with some of you guys. I understand some of you may be upset that I had Kushina die so early, but trust me when I tell you I have my reasons. First of all I needed a catalyst to get Naruto out of Tetsu no Kuni and where I want him to be in the next chapters. That's where Kushina's death came in to play.

Secondly, someone commented last chapter that due to Kushina's Uzumaki bloodline and vitality she can't get sick or have cancer. I wanted to address this issue and say that this premise is just plain wrong. It is a common misconception though and I don't blame anyone if they thought as much, but just because the Uzumaki have stronger life forces and faster healing does NOT make them immune to any and all diseases. All it means is that they can recover faster from _Injuries_. I repeat _Injuries._ Meaning things like stab wounds, broken bones, head trauma, etc. Having more efficient bodies that heal at a faster rate simply means that the cells of their bodies are capable of quicker than normal cellular division and repair. It doesn't have anything to do with their immune system. Now in regards to cancer; in my opinion the healing capabilities of the Uzumaki are also rendered ineffective by cancer. Because at its core cancer is simply a bunch of mutated cells. No amount of regeneration or growth/healing will help fix this mutation. In fact it can be argued that a more rapid growth of cells will encourage cancer and make it spread faster. And so in my humble opinion Kushina can indeed contract and die of cancer. That's just me though, cannon never went in depth with this so it's up to us fans to individually decide how far the Uzumaki blood limit can go.

Now in this chapter there was yet again a lot more drama than adventure and action. I myself loath these kind of chapters but they are necessary for what I have planned. So stick with me and I promise later chapters will be a more balanced mix. Additionally you may have noticed I used the word Shogun in this chapter. That would be a reference to the samurais' general. They don't mention shogun specifically in the anime/manga but that would have been the term used during feudal Japan.

As always, thanks for reading and please review!

Ciao!


	7. Chapter 7: Leaves of Change

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Naruto ran across the tree tops, leaping from branch to branch as he made his way through the forest. Maki and the others had parted with him once they had reached the border of Tetsu no Kuni. They left him with a small allowance to get him started in his new life in Konoha, as well as one last goodbye from Maki who had come to see him as the little brother she never had. Naruto could tell he was going to miss her the most out of all the people in Tetsu no Kuni. Since then Naruto had been making good progress towards Konoha, and he was just about past the border area when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he saw several shadows leaping around him. They moved fast and blended in with the darkness of the forest. Not liking where this was going Naruto expanded his sense transitioning into a quasi-ninshu state he had developed for tracking opponents in combat. He spread his chakra around searching for any other signatures in the area. There were four of them all converging on his position. Further out there was yet another four about five miles to the east and another four to the west. _'Border patrols'_ Naruto deduced and immediately stopped advancing any further and placed his hands into the air. _'Best not to put them on edge. I'd rather not come all this way only to die because of some trigger-happy shinobi.'_ "You can come out. I know you're there. I mean you no harm, I'm looking for passage to Konohagakure. Please, I'm a friend," Naruto called out with a placating gesture as he looked directly at where one of the patrols was hiding.

 _'The kid's good. He spotted me right away, and if we didn't have a Hyuuga with us he might have just slipped past our guard,'_ thought a leaf chuunin. Seeing that he had been found out the chuunin slowly stepped forward from behind a tree to try and see what the redhead wanted. Meanwhile his teammates remained hidden, poised to strike at the intruder at any moment. "What business do you have in the Land of Fire? You say that you're a friend, but you come here unannounced and heavily armed. Explain yourself," commanded the chuunin.

"Well first why don't you call out those other three you're working with. I don't fancy getting stabbed in the back with kunai. Been there, done that, it was not a pleasant experience," replied Naruto.

At first the chuunin was surprised that the little redhead detected his teammates, but he didn't let it show and instead signaled for his team to reveal themselves. "Satisfied?" he asked Naruto, and upon getting a nod continued, "Now, tell us why you were trying to sneak into Konoha. Make it short because I already have half a mind to just strike you down for illegal border crossing."

"You won't need to as I have here a scroll that explains everything. It's even signed and stamped by both the Iron and Fire Daimyos. My name's Uzumaki Naruto, and I come from Tetsu no Kuni," after saying this Naruto reached into his pocket for the scroll Mifune had handed to him. The shinobi around him though, visibly stiffened when they saw him reach into his pocket, but relaxed once Naruto drew out an official looking scroll.

The chuunin who had initially confronted Naruto went forward and took the offered scroll to verify it. It did indeed contain both the Fire and Iron Daimyo's official seals and signatures. _'Hokage-dono, this is the child we request you take into your village, he should have blood red hair, a fair face and answer to the name Uzumaki Naruto. Blah blah blah, okay looks legit,"_ the leaf chuunin thought to himself as he skimmed through the scroll. Satisfied that Naruto was telling the truth he handed back the parchment and said, "Okay, it looks like your story holds, for now. We'll take you to the Hokage as soon as our replacements arrive. We were due back to the village today anyhow so just hang tight kid."

"Alright," was the simple answer he got from Naruto.

The shift change came quickly after that and Naruto soon found himself staring at the gates of Konoha. They were large and rectangular in shape, and made out of green painted wood. The symbol of the hidden leaf hung proudly on the arch above the massive doors and off to the side of it was a small booth manned by two shinobi. Naruto along with his four chuunin escorts entered through the gate and approached the booth. "Hyuuga Hoshi, reporting in with Takeno, Kuzuri Jento, and Hatame Ko from border patrol duty. We also have a little tag along with us. Goes by Uzumaki Naruto," said the Hyuuga of the group to one of the gate guards.

"Alright then, noted. You guys are good to go," replied the shinobi, and with that the group leaped up onto the roof tops, headed straight for the Hokage Tower.

"Wonder who the kid was, and what was the rush? They couldn't stay and chat? It gets so boring out here with just the two of us," complained the one of the guards.

"Quite your whining Kotetsu. Gate duty isn't that bad, and we're helping protect the village so suck it up already. As for the boy, how am I supposed to know?" replied his partner.

"Oh, come on Izumo. Gate duty is like the D-rank for chuunin. And you aren't even a little curious about the boy?" the now identified Kotetsu continued.

"Whatever you say Kotetsu, and yeah I'm a bit curious. But we've got a job to do so save it for later," Izumo replied. In response Kotetsu just groaned and went back to staring down the empty road, searching for some kind of entertainment. Any kind would do for the bored chuunin.

Meanwhile Naruto was eagerly taking in the sights of his new home. He saw many shops and stores, but what caught his attention the most were the numerous amount of ninja crawling all over the place. They leaped across rooftops, ran along walls and chattered rather loudly around bars. It was a surreal change from the calm and organized order of Tetsu no Kuni, and strangely Naruto liked it. The brief glimpse of the village abruptly stopped, however, when the group finally reached the Hokage tower. The chuunin were quick to enter and usher Naruto inside where they were met with the Hokage's secretary and a pair of guards wearing animal themed masks. "This is where we part ways Naruto-san. Please wait here while we hand in our reports. We'll leave you in the care of the Hokage's Anbu and until Hokage-sama is ready, you will have to wait out here with them," instructed Hoshi. Naruto nodded in acknowledgement and proceeded to stand by the animal masked operatives that the Hyuuga had referred to as "Anbu". The chuunin then promptly turned a corner and were admitted into what appeared to be the Hokage's office. After a time, they came out and the secretary motioned for Naruto to come in next. Once inside Naruto found himself face to face with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Ah so you're what all the fuss has been about lately," said the elderly Hokage as Naruto entered the office. He wore the traditional red robes and hat of the Hokage while calmly smoking a pipe as he gave Naruto a calculating look. "I'm Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. My men tell me they found you near the border with a scroll for me. May I see it?" asked the Sandaime.

Naruto nodded and swiftly handed the scroll to Hiruzen before stepping back and bowing low. "Here it is Hokage-sama," he said respectfully.

Hiruzen let out small chuckle at the display and internally thought, _'Such formality for a boy his age. If only some of my own shinobi showed half as much respect as this one.'_ Opening the offered scroll the Sandaime quickly read its contents before pulling out another scroll just like it from his desk drawer. This one had the original message from the Fire Daimyo had sent to him requesting that a redhaired boy be admitted into the village. Comparing Naruto's scroll with his own, Hiruzen found it to be the genuine article and, satisfied that Naruto was in fact the real deal, took out a small sheet of paper. He handed it to the still bowing boy and said, "It looks like everything is in order. Here take this…"

"It's Naruto, sir, Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto answered Hiruzen's unasked question.

"I see, well then Naruto take this with you before you leave. Give it to the instructors at the academy tomorrow. It will explain everything to them," continued Hiruzen.

"I'm sorry, but academy sir?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, the ninja academy. The Iron Daimyo tells me you have shown exceptional skill with both a blade and ninjutsu. I can hardly let such talent go to waste. You are to report there tomorrow for examination, and you're just in time too as you can take the graduation exam with the rest of this year's class. It will save us all the unneeded paperwork of arranging a separate evaluation for you," explained the Sandaime.

"I understand, and thank you for the opportunity Hokage-sama," replied Naruto. "But um, there was one other thing. I was wondering if you knew of any apartments available to stay at? The shinobi I was with earlier took me straight here and I wasn't able to see any on the way," asked a sheepish Naruto.

Saurtobi smiled gently at the boy and wrote a couple addresses down on a note pad. He then handed it to Naruto and said, "Here are the addresses to several apartment complexes in the village. Look around and see which ones you like. Now, I am very sorry to cut this meeting so short, but I have a council meeting to attend. The Anbu outside will show you out. I wish you the best Naruto-san; your clan has always been welcome in Konoha so don't hesitate to come back to me if you have any questions. I can't promise I'll always have time for you, but I will try my best."

Grateful for the Hokage's help, Naruto quickly thanked the man and left to go find a place to stay. Hiruzen on the other hand, rose from his seat and made his way down to the council chambers. He sighed heavily upon entering. How he hated these meetings. Most of the time it was merely day to day affairs that the aged Hokage really didn't have the time or energy for, and the rest of the time it was just the civilian council members praising and bickering about Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Kumiko respectively. They never failed to give Hiruzen a head ache, which was already beginning to form as he listened to them argue about some trivial affairs. Sitting down at his seat, Hiruzen rubbed at his temples and started the meeting. "SILENCE!" The occupants of the room quickly stopped their chatter and looked at Sarutobi expectantly. "I have called all of you here to let you know of a recent addition to our village. One Uzumaki Naruto, from Tetsu no Kuni has arrived, and will be participating in the genin graduation exam tomorrow."

However, before Hiruzen could continue, Shimura Danzo quickly piped up saying, "You would let a foreigner into our village? And not just that but also allow him to take part in our forces? Have you gone mad Hiruzen? He could be a spy for all we know." At that the rest of the council began murmuring their agreement with the old war hawk.

Hiruzen had expected as much from his long-time friend and teammate, and so in reply he said, "I'm well aware of the security risk the boy poses Danzo, but this was not my idea in the first place. No, it was the Fire Daimyo's along with his counterpart in the Land of Iron. Naruto apparently has close ties with Tetsu no Kuni's daimyo, and he asked our daimyo for a favor to let Naruto in. The Fire Daimyo agreed and in return 'requested' the boy be taken into our village and be allowed to become a ninja. Now one does not simply deny a daimyo's request, you of all people Danzo should understand the predicament I was in."

"I take it you have a plan then Hiruzen. You wouldn't call us here to tell us this without already having come up with a solution," replied Hiruzen's female teammate, Koharu.

"Right on all accounts Koharu. I have assigned Uzumaki an Anbu shadow for the time being and come team placements, measures will be taken to track his movements. I already have the perfect ex-operative in mind," was the Sandaime's response.

"If that's all then Hokage-sama, can the council be dismissed. I need to get back home to my wife. Yoshino will only get more troublesome the more time I spend here," said Nara Shikaku lazily while also thinking, _'Not to mention this whole meeting was damn troublesome too.'_

Hiruzen laughed softly at his jonin commander's antics and promptly concluded the meeting. As they all filed out of the room though, he thought to himself, _'Uzumaki Naruto, eh. Wonder if I should introduce Kumiko to him. They are family after all. But then again, I have enough trouble with just Kumiko, and now that there are two Uzumaki in the village. . . Oh no."_ Sarutobi suddenly felt shivers run down his spine at the thought. _'Maybe I'll just let them find each other instead. That'll at least give me a couple more days of peace and quiet,'_ he thought hopefully though he doubted that he would enjoy even a few days of normalcy. One thing was certain though, life in Konoha would be a lot more interesting now that there was another Uzumaki in town.

* * *

Naruto strolled down the streets of Konohagakure. He had already visited several possible apartments on the list the Hokage had given him, but given his lack of income none of them were in his budget range. There was only one more address he had yet to visit and Naruto sorely hoped it would be affordable, otherwise he might just end up sleeping at a hotel for the night. He was just on his way to the apartment when all of a sudden, he bumped into a small scrawny looking kid wearing a long blue scarf, grey shorts, and a yellow shirt with the leaf symbol etched on it. Additionally, the boy wore a grey hat over his head with a hole where his brown hair poked out of. Currently the boy was rubbing his nose after having ran into Naruto. "Hey what's the big idea?! I've got a plan to hatch that will help me defeat Oji-san. I don't have time to deal with commoners like you, so next time you should get out of important people's way," yelled the boy indignantly at Naruto.

"What the hell? You ran into me brat. How about 'next time' you just watch where you're going. Who are you anyway to talk to a stranger like that? Didn't anyone ever teach you manners?" replied Naruto heatedly.

"Huh?" said the child bewilderedly. He was obviously not use to such a reply. He quickly gained his composure though and said, "I'm Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson that's who I am!" _'That should do it. Now he'll think twice before doing anything else,'_ thought the boy.

He was greatly surprised, however, when Naruto simply said, "So?" causing Konohamaru to face fault at Naruto's reaction, or lack thereof. "No matter who your grandparents are, it still doesn't give you the right to be so rude to other people. I expected better from the Hokage's grandson. You do him and your family a great dishonor with the way you act you know," added Naruto.

"Well it's better than being just known as the 'honorable grandson.' They'd never recognize me for me otherwise," Mumbled Konohamaru. Just then a man came speeding down the alley way towards the two of them.

The man stopped once he reached Konohamaru and exclaimed, "Honorable grandson, there you are!"

"See what I mean?" said Konohamaru.

At that Naruto looked on compassionately at the boy and replied, "Yeah, I get it kid. Still being an obnoxious brat isn't the way to get people to acknowledge you. It's by showing them who you really are and forming friendships with others."

Konohamaru took on a thinking pose while the man who had arrived midway through their conversation cried disbelievingly at the rudeness the redhaired boy was showing to the "honorable grandson". Konohamaru then sheepishly said, "Oh, so then I guess I should start by apologizing for the way I acted earlier huh?"

Naruto waved him off and said, "Aw, it's okay. No harm, no foul. Hey, if you want maybe we can hangout sometime. I'm new to the village you see so I don't know too many people yet. I could even show you a couple cool jutsu if you want." _'It'd be a good idea to start making friends, even if he is just a little kid. A single friend can go a long way in a new place after all.'_

"Yatta! That'd be awesome. You could teach me a real powerful jutsu and I'll be Hokage in no time!" exclaimed Konohamaru excitedly.

The man beside him, however, took offense to the very idea of some no good amateur teaching the Hokage's grandson, and said to Naruto, "As if you could teach anything even past an academy student's skill set. Come honorable grandson, we must be off to continue your exclusive one on one training with a village elite. You mustn't waste time with this rabble."

Naruto took offense to that. He was only trying to be friendly after all, and so he said,"Is that so shinobi-san? Well then how about a little spar to show you just how skilled I am? Unless of course you're scared of losing to an 11-year-old."

Konohamaru's instructor scoffed and replied, "I'm Ebisu, a special Jonin of Konohagakure, meaning I'm an elite and nothing you have could possibly scare me child." He took a couple steps away from Naruto and turned before saying "Very well, if it is a fight you want then it's a fight you shall get. The match rules will be the first one to get a solid hit on their opponent wins. Try not to take it so hard when you lose young man."

"Fine. Bring it four eyes," Naruto taunted referring to Ebisu's sunglasses. _'If he's as skilled as he says he is, then I might not stand much of a fight. But then again, it's only a spar and I_ _need only get one good hit in. All I need is a distraction and since he's underestimating me it should be doable to get under his guard. Now what to use as the distraction though…'_ Suddenly a devilish idea popped into Naruto's head, and he decided to test out one of the few "prank jutsu" he had created on these so called Konoha elites.

"When this kunai lands then we begin," said Ebisu who then threw the knife into the air. Once the blade landed Naruto immediately put his hands into a cross sign and said, **"Harem no Jutsu"** Puffs of smoke appeared all around them as he called out his jutsu. They quickly faded and revealed two dozen beautiful naked women ranging all different sizes, hair color, and figure. All of them posed seductively and some even ran up to Ebisu and rubbed their sizable assets on the man. This in turn caused the tokubetsu jonin to go flying backwards in a gush of red blood as his nose bled at the mental overload that the naked kage bunshin caused. Naruto sweat dropped at the scene and thought, _'That's it? The jutsu was only meant to distract him. Who knew the guy was such a pervert.'_

Meanwhile Konohamaru clapped on the sidelines, amazed at how Naruto handled his sensei. "Wow! That was awesome! You totally need to teach me that jutsu," praised Konohamaru before continuing, "You're really strong. So, from now on you're going to be my trainer, and I'll be your underling."

"WHAT?" replied Naruto dumbly.

"Yeah, you'll teach me all kinds of cool jutsu and you'll be the boss, boss," answered Konohamaru.

"How about we just be friends? I don't really think I'm ready to take on a student right now. Besides I'm entering the academy tomorrow so I can't train you even if I wanted to," reasoned Naruto. Seeing Konohamaru take on a disappointed look though Naruto decided to add, "Though I can teach you a couple jutsu from time to time," with an emphasis on the can.

"Alright!" yelled Konohamaru triumphantly.

"Well I gotta go. It was nice meeting you, honorable grandson. Hehe," commented Naruto not realizing he had just hurt his new friend's feelings with that last jab at his moniker.

Konohamaru looked down after hearing what Naruto called him. "Don't call me that. Everyone calls me that, and they never see me for me. All they see is the Hokage's grandson, but I'm more than that! I'm Konohamaru of the Sarutobi clan and I'm not just some honorable grandson," Konohamaru said as he lashed out at Naruto.

Naruto on the other hand realized his mistake and moved to right it quickly. "I was only teasing you Konohamaru. Sorry if it came off wrong, I never meant to hurt you. You're my friend and I'd never be purposefully mean to a friend. Here, look I promise to never call you that again. To me you're just Konohamaru, and to be honest I like it better that way. Sounds way better and less uptight than 'honorable grandson'," said Naruto remorsefully.

Konohamaru laughed at the last part of Naruto's apology and said, "Yeah, it does sound a lot better." Naruto then waved goodbye and continued on his search for an apartment all the while Konohamaru looked at his retreating form with a look of genuine happiness at having found someone who acknowledged him.

* * *

After parting with Konohamaru, Naruto walked around what seemed to be the market district of Konoha. There was a neat weapons store by the name of Higurashi's, and even a ramen stand which Naruto was delighted to find. He would have to try and come back to give the place a try someday. Though despite all his discoveries, Naruto still couldn't locate the last apartment complex on his list. He had been wandering about for the better part of the day now and so the redhead finally decided to ask for directions. Stepping into a quaint little flower shop, Naruto hoped to find someone that could help him.

"Hello, and welcome to the Yamanaka Floral Store," said a medium height woman with long flowing blonde hair and teal green eyes. She was wearing a simple blue work blouse and a pair of black pants and sandals. "I'm Yamanaka Inna. How may I help you?"

"Oh, um hello Yamanaka-san. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't really come in to buy any flowers today. I uh simply need directions to this address. I recently moved you see and am looking for an apartment to rent out," answered Naruto sheepishly as he showed Inna the address he was talking about.

Before Inna could answer, however, another blonde entered the room. This time it was a girl about Naruto's age. She was wearing a yellow work apron over a short purple blouse and skirt. Around her legs and abdomen were bandages, and she also wore a pair of white arm warmers. "Ka-chan, is it okay if I take off early today? The graduation exam is tomorrow and I want to make sure I've got time to prepare," she said to Inna.

Frustrated over being interrupted, Inna excused herself from Naruto and addressed her daughter, "Ino, I'm with a customer right now. You can't just butt in like that. And I thought you already finished practicing and studying for those exams. Why do need more time to prepare?"

"Not for the exam Ka-chan. For Sasuke-kun of course. I need time to look my best tomorrow, I want to look absolutely dazzling when I graduate so that Sasuke-kun will be impressed," answered Ino with a slight swoon at the mention of the broody Uchiha.

It was at this point that Naruto decided to chime in, "I hope you don't mind me saying, but you shouldn't need much time, I don't think. You look beautiful already."

Ino having not noticed the boy at first blushed at the compliment and turned to the redhead. He looked about her age, but she couldn't recognize him. She knew almost everyone in their class and this boy was definitely a new face. "You ought to listen to him Ino. Besides you shouldn't try so hard to get that boy to like you," commented Inna. Suddenly there was a beep that came from the intercom on the store counter and Inna hurriedly answered it. "Yes, hello?"

 _*ZZZZCHHH*_ "Uh Mrs. Yamanaka? This is the floral delivery service from Flowers For You. We have your recent supply order with us at the back, but the door seems to be locked and no one is answering. Can you please let us in?" asked the delivery man through the intercom.

"Oh my, um, yes. I'll be right there," replied Inna swiftly. She then turned to Ino and said, "Your father should have been manning the back, but he just had to go out on some last-minute council meeting delivery day of all days. Okay, Ino it looks like you get your wish. We are closing early to get those deliveries unloaded and stocked. I'll be at the back; meanwhile why don't you help this young man here with whatever he needs. After that you're free to go," instructed Inna. "Oh, but don't forget to lock up the front of the store before you go okay? Okay. See you tonight sweetie."

"Will do. See you tonight," Ino yelled out to her already leaving mom. "Well then Mr. Compliments, what can I do for you?" she asked turning her attention to Naruto.

"Uh it's just Naruto, and I wasn't really here to buy anything. I needed some help finding this address. I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction," answered Naruto.

"Oh, is that it? Well then what's the address?" asked Ino

"221 Kyoto Drive, you know where it is?" said Naruto in reply.

Ino nodded in affirmation and offered, "Yeah, I know that street. My friend, Kumiko, lives there. Here, I have to close the shop anyway, so if you don't mind waiting a few minutes I'll take you over there as soon as I lock up." Grateful for her offer to help Naruto soon found himself being led down the streets by the blonde. "So, who are you anyways? I've never seen you around before," asked Ino curiously.

"That's because I just moved here today. I'm from Tetsu no Kuni originally, and due to some… circumstances, I ended up moving away. The Hokage was nice enough to offer me a place in this village, and he even invited me to participate in tomorrow's graduation exam," replied Naruto.

"Really? I'm taking the exam tomorrow too, I guess we'll see each other again then?" the blonde asked hopefully. She had a very good first impression of the redhead, and she could tell they'd be good friends. Not to mention he was sorta cute too, with his exotic looking red hair, violet eyes and pleasant attitude. Not that she'd ever consider him over her Sasuke-kun of course. No way, Sasuke-kun and her were meant to be! But Naruto was pretty good looking as well… Putting the confusing thoughts away for now, Ino quickly led Naruto to the apartments he was looking for, and said, "Anyways, here we are. 221 Kyoto Drive."

Naruto looked around the fairly empty complex and thought, _'Doesn't look like there are too many residents here, and even though it isn't in the nicest neighborhood in the village, the place is still pretty decent. Besides I don't have much more than what Maki-sensei gave me, so I can't be choosy.'_ "Thanks for all your help Ino-chan," he said to his blonde companion.

Ino again blushed at the familiar way Naruto called her, and said, "Don't mention it." But when Naruto turned to enter the building she quickly and gently grabbed onto his shoulder and asked, "But um before you go I just wanted to ask if you meant what you said earlier. You know about me not having to do that much to impress Sasuke-kun."

At that Naruto smiled warmly and replied, "Of course I meant it. Besides if this guy, Sasuke, or any other boy can't see or appreciate how pretty you are then I'd say he doesn't deserve you anyways. My Ka-chan always said that when the right person comes along you won't have to do anything special to get their attention, just being yourself is enough." With that Naruto turned to leave once again but not before saying goodbye to Ino. "Listen, I'd love to stay and chat Ino-chan, but it's getting late and I need to find a place to stay at so I'll have to say goodbye for now. I'll see you tomorrow though at the academy, oh and good luck with your crush," he said off handedly over his shoulder.

Ino was stunned by what the redhead said, but at his closing remark let out an indignant yell, "IT'S NOT JUST A CRUSH! IT'S TRUE LOVE!" Naruto just laughed softly and waved goodbye before entering the landlord's office.

Once inside Naruto was able to quickly hash out a deal with the owner of the apartments. It turns out there was only one resident in all the complex, and Naruto was easily able to use this to bargain with the old man. Naruto ended up receiving a room next to the only other resident, and it was there that the redhead had quickly placed his things away and fell asleep on the floor as the apartment was still lacking furniture. Naruto didn't mind though. He had had a long first day in his new home, and he just wanted somewhere to rest for the night

* * *

AN: Hooray another installment of IW in the books! So now, with the interaction with Ino, I know there may be some questions as to the pairing of this story. I won't say what it is as of now, but you can rest assured that when it comes out, it will be very obvious. Currently though Naruto is only 11 and the rest of the rookie 9 are around that age as well, so really there won't be any romantic relationships forming until they all mature a bit more. Meaning probably not until after this story reaches the shippuden era. And it will be that long. I've already got the outline I want to do all figured out.

That's really all I had to say. Oh almost forgot: As always thanks for reading and please leave a review!

Ciao


	8. Chapter 8: Family Reunion

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

It was the morning of the genin graduation exam. The sun was barely over the horizon and the people of Konohagakure were only just beginning to rise. Naruto Uzumaki, however, was not one to let the day waste away and had already gotten up hours prior to dawn. He had at first set himself about unpacking his belongings from their storage scrolls, and then gone out to the village to find something to eat. The streets were all empty with the exception of the occasional passerby and most of the food stands were still closed. Eventually, the redhead was able to stumble upon a small café that was open, and so he entered and promptly ordered breakfast. Once he had finished Naruto headed on towards the academy to take the genin exam being held there. However, when he arrived at the academy doors, he found them locked and the school still closed. It was very odd to the boy as he was used to the samurai academy in Tetsu no Kuni. There the academy would always open at the break of dawn. No exceptions, and so Naruto had reasoned the same applied to the shinobi academy in Konoha. Apparently, ninja did things differently though which forced Naruto to wait until an instructor came along to open up the building. _'Well as long as I'm out here I guess I could use this time to relax a bit and meditate,'_ thought Naruto to himself. He then sat down in a cross legged position and emptied his mind allowing his chakra to simply flow out. He could sense much more now in this state than he could when he was first introduced to ninshu. He could feel the plants and animals in the forests, the shinobi patrols out on the wall, even the civilians with their underdeveloped chakra systems. He could see all of it, down to the tiniest ant. To Naruto the world through ninshu was like one big work of art. Every chakra signature, its own hue of green, blue, orange, yellow, white, and all the other colors in between. Each one had its own place in the world, its own role. He didn't know what it was, but he could feel it, and for just a moment the entire world around the boy was in perfect harmony. All this Naruto could sense through his connection with the environment, but it was not all that he had learned to do. Through intense, and often prolonged meditation he had discovered ways to broaden his scope and expand his reach using the technique. He had had many questions about ninshu during his time spent in Tetsu no kuni. Things like, why could he feel even the trees, grass and all other things in nature when they possessed no chakra? What was it that ninshu really connected? The soul of two different people or just their spiritual chakra? What was the difference between the two? How were there different colors of chakra? Some of these he still did not have answers for, but for others he had his hunches. For instance, Naruto was fairly certain that the shades of chakra came from the person's elemental affinity, and that he could feel nature through the connection because nature itself had chakra. How it had any he did not understand, but he could connect to it using ninshu so it stood that nature had to have chakra. Needless to say, with all his advancements Naruto had long ago surpassed his sensei, Maki, in ninshu. His mastery of the art even went so far as being able to apply it in combat and act as a pseudo-sensor if the need ever arose.

This morning, however, he decided not to focus on details or experiment with the different aspects of ninshu. Instead, he felt for the village's chakra as a whole. He tried to familiarize himself with all he touched, tried to understand these shinobi who he might soon call comrades. What he sensed surprised him. Growing up Naruto had always heard people around him deride shinobi. They said shinobi were all war profiteers, no better than hired thugs, and that no shinobi knew what real honor meant. But what Naruto sensed here and now was anything but what the samurai said shinobi were. He felt their loyalty and love for one another and their village. He detected a will to protect their loved ones and comrades, like a fire that burned brightly in all their hearts. He had sensed it before in his Ka-chan as well, especially whenever she thought of him. And strangely, instead of bringing Naruto pain, this connection with his Ka-chan's memory calmed the boy, and he once again felt true peace. He stayed that way for a long time and was only broken from his trance when a finger tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Um, excuse me, but what are you doing? This is the academy and is no place to loiter around," spoke a stern voice.

Naruto opened his eyes and found himself looking up at a tall shinobi with brown hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket and had a scar that ran horizontally across his nose. Naruto quickly stood up and greeted the man. "Oh, um you see I was just waiting for the doors to be opened. I didn't know when that would happen though, so I decided to take a seat and meditate to pass the time. I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way," explained Naruto.

"I see. We usually open at around 7:30. It'd be earlier, but the students don't wake up early enough and it's just a waste of effort for us instructors to be here any earlier than that. My name's Iruka Umino; I'm an instructor here. Come on in Naruto," replied Iruka as he unlocked the doors and led Naruto inside. "So, since you didn't know when we opened, I'm guessing you're new to the academy. Will you be signing up? If so, you should know that we don't begin enrollments until a couple of months from now. We're actually just finishing up the year today."

"I know Iruka-san, but I'm here because Hokage-sama told me to report to the academy today. Oh, that reminds me," said Naruto as he reached into his pocket for the note Hiruzen gave him, "He told me to give this to the instructors here." Naruto then handed the note to Iruka.

After reading the message, the chunin turned to Naruto and said, "Hmm, that's strange, looks like we are to let you participate in the final exams this year. Well orders are orders. Follow me Naruto, I'm administering the exams with my partner Mizuki, so you can just hang out in the class room until the rest of the students arrive."

"Okay then, thanks Iruka-sensei," thanked Naruto. Iruka nodded in response and promptly led Naruto to an empty classroom. There were numerous levels of desks spread out in a lecture hall fashion and at the front of the room was a wall sized chalk board and an upraised desk in which Iruka took a seat at and began preparing for the day. Meanwhile Naruto took a seat at the back of the room and continued his meditation. Iruka found it strange but oddly satisfying that someone so young would choose to sit down quietly. It was a welcome change for the chunin instructor who regularly dealt with loud and brash academy students. _'*sigh* I wish some of my other students would learn how to sit still and be quite like that,'_ he thought to himself. With that Iruka left Naruto alone and just enjoyed the silence in the room. It didn't last long, however, as after about half an hour the students all came noisily filing in and taking their seats. So engrossed were they by their chatter that they all failed to notice the redhead sitting in the back of the room, which suited Naruto just fine. He preferred observing from a distance for now anyway.

There seemed to be quite the number of shinobi hopefuls in the room and Naruto couldn't help but try to analyze each one. Eventually though he was knocked out of his thoughts when a low rumble was felt throughout the building and the door to the class room opened to reveal the blonde he met yesterday, Ino, staring down at a pink haired girl.

"I win Ino-pig!" said the pink haired girl.

"What are you blind billboard brow? I was obviously a couple centimeters ahead of you," replied Ino. Both girls growled lowly at each other and sparks seemed to shoot out from their eye contact alone when a low dismissive grunt was heard. The girls turned and swooned over the black-haired boy who had interrupted their stare off. "Sasuke-kun!" they both yelled. Rushing over to the now identified Sasuke the girls pushed and shoved at each other and then at another boy who had been sitting next to him in order to claim the seat as their own. The boy had a dog sitting atop his head and tried to resist but was quickly deposed from his seat and angrily stared at Sasuke.

 _'Stupid bastard Uchiha. Always getting all the girls, what do they see in him anyway? He's nothing special. I'm more of an alpha male than him,'_ thought the downed boy. He got up from the ground and took up an empty spot next to a girl with pale pupiless white eyes. Next to her was another black-haired boy, only this time his hair was pineapple shaped and he looked to be napping. "Hey Hinata, Shikamaru. Can you guys believe this? All they do is pine after Sasuke and I get thrown away like nobody's business."

"Don't – don't take it so hard Kiba. They were ju-just excited to see him is all," stuttered Hinata.

"It's too early for this Kiba. Besides *yawn* women will always be troublesome especially the blonde ones," replied Shikamaru who was still half asleep.

A rotund boy on Shikamaru's left decided to chime in as well. "Besides *nom nom* if he bothers you that much think about it this way. It's the last day before team assignments so you probably won't have to *nom* put up with him anymore," reasoned the boy as he munched on some chips.

"Yeah, you're right about that Choji," replied Kiba. Just then two more people entered the room. One was a brown haired boy wearing a high collard jacket and sunglasses, while the other was a girl with long red hair that ran down to her back. She was wearing a short light yellow kimono with black dashes as a trim. Underneath she had on a pair of black shorts cut around her midthigh as well as a brown obi and leggings that reached up close to her shorts (think the outfit Kushina had when she was rescued by Minato as a child). Without saying a word the boy calmly sat down next to Naruto in the back of the room; the girl on the other hand loudly took a seat at the front of the class and exclaimed, "WHOOHOO! I just know we'll all ace this exam so let's get this over with already."

Iruka laughed softly at the girl and said, "I'm glad you feel so confident about all this Kumiko. The first part is a written exam, and we all know how you feel about those."

At hearing that Kumiko suddenly gave out an audible gulp and thought _'Written exam? I didn't know there was a written portion involved. I'm horrible at written tests.'_ All the while she tried to keep up the same confident face she had on earlier, but on the inside inner Kumiko was already crying streams of tears at the unfairness of it all. As Kumiko was internally cursing her luck, Iruka had begun passing out the exam papers. When he got to Naruto though, he said, "Here you are Naruto, just try your best. A lot of this material you probably haven't learned or committed to memory yet so it's likely you won't do to well on this portion, but I know Hokage-sama would understand."

Naruto simply took the offered paper and replied, "Don't worry about me Iruka-sensei. I know I'll be just fine." He then took a look at the exam and upon starting to work on it found that a lot of the questions he and his Ka-chan had already covered. It was all actually pretty basic stuff to him. There were a couple questions on very rudimentary chakra theory and usage as well as a section on common themes for shinobi. Stuff like ninja rankings and general history. The only things he had any trouble on was the Konohagakure history questions but those were easily guessable so when it came time to turn it in Naruto felt pretty good about his results.

Next came the practical portion, and Iruka along with his partner Mizuki led their students outside to the throwing range. It was simply a long flat field with ten training dummies at different points all facing the same direction. In the middle of each dummy's torso was a target and off to the side at the edge of the range was a table full of kunai and shuriken the students were to use for the exam."Okay everyone line up so we can begin the throwing portion of the exam. Uchiha Sasuke you're up first," called out Iruka who then handed the boy a set of kunai and shuriken. Sasuke took the offered weaponry and approached the training dummies. He cocked his arms back and then swung them forward and released the projectiles hitting all of his targets dead on at the same time. His fangirls immediately went up into a cheer and Sasuke grunted dismissively at their praises before returning to the line. The rest of the students followed suit and though all showed passable accuracy none were able to match the Uchiha, that was until Iruka called out for the last participant. "Next up, Uzumaki Naruto."

At the mention of a new student the children began to make hushed whispers and anxiously looked around for the boy. Kumiko especially was scanning the crowd for Naruto. Ino had mentioned that there was another Uzumaki in town, and that he was staying in the same apartments as her. She had tried to see him in the morning before she went out, but no one answered the door when she came knocking. But now she'd finally be able to meet him. Suddenly a boy made himself known and walked toward Iruka. Kumiko could see that he had blood red hair just like her and that he possessed a pair of calculating amethyst eyes. He wore a black long sleeved shirt with red orange trim running along its edges, and emblazoned on the back was the Uzumaki swirl. He had on matching dark grey pants and black high topped sandals. Strapped to his back were a pair of katana, one longer than the other. The whisperings only grew at the sight of him, and many were wondering just where he had come from. No one had seen the redhead out there with them yet Iruka seemed to have known he was there all along. Quietly Ino leaned in closer to Kumiko and whispered, "That's him. That's the guy I was telling you about. Remember, I told you I helped him find his way to your apartment yesterday. Apparently, he's new to the village, and I think he's your new neighbor to boot."

Naruto meanwhile ignored the crowd and calmly took the offered kunai and shuriken from Iruka before taking his place in front of the targets. He drew his arms back quickly and then without ceremony released all of the projectiles at once. The kunai and shuriken hit all their targets dead center, and embedded themselves deeply into the wood of the target dummies. _'Amazing, there was chakra running through those. I felt it,'_ thought Iruka. _'The kunai and shuriken also didn't completely shred through our dummies. How considerate of him to tone down the technique. The control needed to do that though is far too advanced for even a genin. Hokage-sama was right. He is indeed very talented.'_

Unbeknownst to Iruka, Sasuke too was thinking the same thing about Naruto's show of skill. Although for a different reason. _'This guy's good. At least better than the rest of these losers. He might even make for a good challenge. Wonder where he came from though. I've never seen him before.'_

"Very good Naruto. A 10 out of 10, looks like you have some competition Sasuke," commented Mizuki slyly getting a "Hn" from the Uchiha. "Now I want everyone to head over to the sparing field for the taijutsu exam." With that the students made their way over to a dirt field in the back of the academy. There was a rectangular box made out of white chalk outlines in it and in the center of the box was drawn a small circle where competitors were to start. Mizuki took up a position inside the box and began calling out pairs of students at random, and when he got to Naruto he said, "Can I please have Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba come up next."

Kiba put his dog, Akamaru, down from his head and entered the ring where he was met by Naruto who was distinctly lacking his two katanas. Looking around Kiba spotted the swords off to the side leaning against a tree. Meanwhile Mizuki was getting impatient and started the match, "Hajime!" Kiba suddenly took up his clan's taijutsu stance and leaped at Naruto with a fast jab, intending on going for a leg swipe next, followed by a strike to the redhead's solar plexus. He was stopped before he could do so, however, when Naruto simply stepped forward, allowing Kiba's jab to overshoot its target. The maneuver placed Naruto inside of Kiba's guard and the redhead swiftly capitalized on it. He elbowed Kiba in the torso and then followed with a quick palm strike to his chin sending the young Inuzuka flying backwards. But Naruto wasn't done yet and grabbed Kiba's shirt before he could fall back very far. The redhead then brought his opponent down and thrust his knee into Kiba's gut causing the boy to collapse onto the dirt and empty the contents of his stomach. All was silent in the training field except for the sounds of Kiba gagging as he threw up his breakfast. The students, the instructors, all of them couldn't believe the ease with which Kiba was handled. He was one of the better taijutsu users in their year, but this kid moved around him like water, and his strikes were so fast that none but the chuunin instructors were able to follow them. _'This guy is something else,'_ thought Kiba as he laid down on the ground. Naruto then proved his thoughts even more when he offered Kiba his hand and helped the downed boy to his feet. Naruto then took a couple steps back from Kiba and bowed lowly, which Kiba uncertainly returned. _'That's new. No one ever ends a match with a bow,'_ Kiba thought to himself.

"It was a pleasure fighting you Kiba," said Naruto warmly.

That knocked Kiba out of his stupor and he quickly replied, "Maybe for you, but I for one will probably be sporting bruises till next week. You couldn't pull your punches even a little bit?"

Naruto tilted his head, looked at him oddly and said, "But I did," causing Kiba to look at him in disbelief.

 _'That was him going easy?!'_ thought a shocked Kiba. _'Definitely not picking fights with him,'_ the boy noted to himself.

The rest of the matches went on after that and when they finished the class quickly went inside for the final part of the exam. The ninjutsu portion. "Okay Naruto please demonstrate to us the use of a **Bunshin, Henge** and **Kawarimi** ," instructed a seated Iruka. Next to him also sat Mizuki who was preparing to write down notes about Naruto's performance. Naruto nodded in recognition of the instructions and gathered his chakra to make a sealless **bunshin** that **henged** itself to look like Mizuki. Naruto then had the clone **kawarimi** with Iruka. The clone smiled cheekily at the original Mizuki and then promptly vanished. "Well done, I am happy to announce that you passed Naruto. Now as per Hokage-sama's orders, here is a leaf headband. You're officially one of us, and I for one expect a lot of great things from you after the skill you displayed today. Report here at 8am tomorrow morning for team placements. 8am not 6, okay?" Iruka instructed with a soft chuckle at the end.

"Got it Iruka-sensei,and thank you!" replied Naruto as he headed out the door.

* * *

[Later that night]

Naruto was wandering about one of the village's many forest areas looking for a place where he could train in peace when out of the blue a figure landed behind him and placed Naruto into a headlock. It then quickly held a kunai up against the boy's jugular. However, before Naruto could make sense of the situation a team of Anbu entered the clearing as well and surrounded him and his captor. "Stay back! Stay back I say! You guys take another step and I'll slit this boy's throat," yelled the man holding Naruto.

The Anbu in response tensed and held their ground in such a way as to prevent the man's escape. Meanwhile Naruto was desperately trying to think of a way out of the headlock he was in. _'Shit, just my luck, I'm being held hostage by some psycho with a kunai. I've got to do something before he decides I've served my purpose and ends me right here,'_ thought Naruto. Suddenly, an absolutely brutish idea came into his head. _'This'll probably kill him, but it's either me or him at this point.'_ And so, without warning, Naruto quickly sprouted several gold colored chakra chains from his back and proceeded to impale his attacker. There were no screams or dying curses that escaped from the man's lips. Instead, the man looked down at the chains lodged through his torso and lungs with a shocked expression before letting out a chortled gurgle of blood and collapsing dead onto Naruto's shoulders. Naruto on the other hand merely retracted his chains and shrugged the corpse off of him. The Anbu were caught by surprise as well by the move, but quickly regained their composures. A pair approached the corpse beside Naruto and busied themselves with disposing of the body, while another operative went back towards the village to report what had happened. A fourth Anbu, however, walked towards Naruto. The boy could easily tell that this operative was a woman, and he noted as much as she neared him. She also had long purple hair that framed her face and went down to her back, as well as a figure that even the Anbu uniforms couldn't hide. On her back was a katana and her mask was shaped to look like a cat. She was a good deal taller than Naruto and so she knelt down and using her gloved hand gently wiped away some blood that had landed on Naruto's cheek. "Are you okay child?" she asked softly getting a nod from Naruto. "What's your name?"

"Na-Naruto, Neko-san," replied Naruto with a stutter as he was mesmerized by the kunoichi's beauty and because the way she was treating him reminded the boy greatly of his mother.

The Anbu then placed her hands on his shoulders and said, "I'm sorry we weren't able to stop that man before he got to you, Naruto-san. You shouldn't have had to go as far as you did. Killing is a heavy burden that we should be carrying instead of ones as young as you."

She was shocked, however, by Naruto's reply. "It's okay Neko-san. This wasn't my first kill and neither was it my second. So, you don't need to worry about me. I can handle it. I am wondering though, who was that, and why were you guys chasing him? He looked like a Konoha shinobi to me."

At that Neko sighed and answered, "I'm normally not supposed to divulge mission data like this Naruto-san, but since you were the one to actually kill the man I suppose it will be alright if I tell you. That man was Takatsuji Mizuki, a chuunin instructor at the academy who turned traitor. We've been onto him for a while now due to some suspicious circumstances surrounding the man. There was never any concrete evidence though, but tonight he pushed his luck too far when he attempted to steal the Forbidden Scroll from Hokage-sama's residence. He even went so far as to attack the guards there. Two were critically injured and are currently being treated at the hospital. A third guard, however, had to be sent to the morgue instead. You did this village a great service by ending the traitor."

"What? I can't believe that was Mizuki-sensei. I mean I didn't know him too well, but he seemed so nice at the academy," replied Naruto.

"Some of the worst shinobi out there are the best actors Naruto-san. Remember that," advised Neko. She then began to get up from her kneeling position and head back over to her squad. Before the Anbu could though, something on the ground gleamed moonlight into her eyes. Picking it up she found the item to be a Konoha head protector.

At seeing the operative pick up a headband Naruto piped up and said, "Oh, um that's mine Neko-san. I just earned it today after passing the genin exam. I didn't really know what to do with the headband, so I put it in one of my pockets. It must have fallen out during the struggle."

The woman in turn looked back at Naruto, placed the headband on his forehead, and tied it. "This is what you do with it Naruto-san. I remember you coming into Hokage-sama's office as a new addition to the village so I'll forgive you just this once for not wearing it. Your academy instructors should also have been the ones to explain the importance and meaning behind these headbands, but apparently Mizuki was one of your teachers so it doesn't surprise me that you weren't told. You see this headband marks you as a shinobi of Konohagakure. We all wear it to show our allegiance and comradeship with one another, but more than that it is the symbol of the village itself. When we wear it, we honor all those before us who took up that same symbol and gave their lives in the line of duty. So, wear it always, and proudly at that, Naruto-san."

She then bid the redhead goodbye and leaped away after her teammates leaving a contemplative Naruto in the clearing. "I will Neko-san," he whispered after her.

* * *

The next day Naruto was awakened by a rather loud knock. Stumbling out of his newly bought second hand bed the redhead lazily got up to answer the door. It was early in the morning earlier than even he liked to get up. Upon opening the door, however, he was met with the excited face of the loud redhead he saw yesterday. "Yes! You're still here. I tried meeting you yesterday too, but you were already gone by then. So, today I decided to get up extra extra early and see if I could catch you on your way to the academy. My name's Kumiko. Uzumaki Kumiko," said the girl with an emphasis on Uzumaki.

At hearing that she was another Uzumaki, Naruto became fully awake and answered, "Uzumaki? Are you serious? I'm an Uzumaki too."

"Yup. I really am an Uzumaki," replied Kumiko.

"No way, I never thought I'd meet another family member. Oh, and my name's Naruto by the way. Come on inside. Do you want anything to eat? I don't have much stocked yet since I just moved in a couple days ago, but I do have some tea and some muffins if you'd like."

"Uh, some tea would be nice."

"Okay just let me get some water boiling and I'll bring it right out. There isn't much furniture around as you can see. My clone was only able to buy a bed frame and mattress yesterday, so I'm afraid I can't offer you a seat."

"That's fine, Naruto. I'll just stand by the counter and we can talk there. So… um…"

"Yeah? What is it Kumiko? Whatever it is you can go ahead and say it ya know."

"Well it's just that I've always wanted to meet another Uzumaki, but now that I'm here I don't really know what to say. I'm sorry to barge in on you like this. It must be pretty weird finding out the neighbor you don't know is related to you."

"Stranger things have happened I can assure of that; I guess we can start by getting to know each other," suggested Naruto as he finished making the tea and poured Kumiko a cup. "Here why don't you start us off and tell me a little bit about yourself." Soon after that the two began to chat away the early morning hours. Kumiko went on about her many accomplishments as the prankster queen of Konoha, and about life in the village. She also told him about all the great places in the village, including the Ichiraku stand to where she promised to take Naruto one day. Naruto in return told Kumiko about his previous life in Tetsu no Kuni. He told her old stories he had growing up as a child and about all of his loved ones back there. The two of them were having the best of times just talking, but it wasn't to last. Eventually after a particularly funny story about Kushina and an infant Naruto, Kumiko asked, "Wait, so where's your Ka-chan now Naruto? Is she back in Tetsu no Kuni too?"

Instantly the happy demeanor around Naruto turned heavy with grief. Naruto took a deep breath and said, "She died just a few months ago. I really don't want to talk about it Kumiko. Please, let's just move on to something else, okay?"

Kumiko swallowed hard and nodded in understanding. "It's almost time to go to the academy for team placements anyway, and we still need to get ready. I'll just get my things and we can head out together. You'll wait for me before going, right?" said Kumiko as she stepped out of the door and headed inside her own apartment.

"Yeah, sure thing Kumiko-chan," replied Naruto after her.

* * *

[At the academy]

Naruto and Kumiko made their way inside the building and to the classroom where all the other graduates were. They were in a similar room as yesterday's only there were considerably less people in it today. Evidently many still ended up failing despite how easy the tests had been. Naruto put it out of his thoughts, however, as Kumiko had all but dragged him with her towards a small gathering of her friends. "Morning everyone! I'd like you all to meet Naruto. He's a distant relative of mine and just moved to Konoha from uh…" Kumiko said as she introduced Naruto.

"From Tetsu no Kuni Kumiko-chan. I'm from Tetsu no Kuni. It's just north of Hi no Kuni, and we share a border with your country," Naruto said helpfully.

"But Kumiko I thought you told us before that you didn't have any family left," inquired a pink haired girl.

"That's what I thought too, but I went and asked Hokage Oji-san yesterday after class, and he said that Naruto really is an Uzumaki," replied Kumiko. "Oh, Naruto these are my friends by the way. That's Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, and you've already met both Ino and Kiba." At the mention of each their names they all gave Naruto their own version of a wave.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you guys," said Naruto brightly hoping to make friends. The meet and greet would have to wait, however, since at that moment Iruka entered the classroom.

"Alright, now that we're all seated I'd like to congratulate all of you on passing your genin exams. As of this moment you are all officially leaf shinobi. Things will be a lot harder from here on out, but I know you all have what it takes to be excel wherever you may go. Today we will be revealing your team assignments. We'll begin with Team 1…" Iruka then began calling out names for each respective team, and when he got to Team 7 he said, "Alright, for this next group we are going to be doing things differently. Given the odd number of students this year Hokage-sama has decided to put together a five man squad consisting of four genin and one jonin. Team 7 is that squad. On it will be Sasuke Uchiha, Kumiko Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. You're jonin sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."

Immediately after hearing her name called along with Sasuke's, Sakura stood up on her feet and yelled, "YES! In your face Ino-pig. True love wins!" Ino too stood up and began yelling only she was saying something about the unfairness of it all.

"Okay, girls that's enough. These teams are non-negotiable and permanent so I suggest you all just learn to live with it. Moving on though, Team 8 will be made up of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Kiba Inuzuka under the command of Kurenai Yuhi. Team 9 is still in rotation from last year's graduation and so up next is Team 10. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi you will be teaming up under Asuma Sarutobi. You're jonin sensei will each come by and pick you up here after lunch. Good luck everyone," finished Iruka. And with that all the newly graduated genin quickly dispersed to chat amongst themselves.

About an hour past noon everyone had finished with their meals and were excitedly waiting for their jonin sensei at the academy. One by one the jonin all came in until only the members of Team 7 had yet to be picked up. Only Sasuke minded the wait though, thinking about all the wasted time he could be using to further his training. Additionally, he was put off by his annoying pink haired teammate who kept trying to grab his arm and cop a feel of his body all while she attempted to get flirty with him. It was starting to get on the Uchiha's nerves. Meanwhile Kumiko and Naruto were getting along just fine at the other end of the classroom. "Hey Kumiko-chan, have you noticed how late our sensei is? I mean it's been almost three hours since he was supposed to pick us up," said Naruto suddenly getting the attention of Sakura and Sasuke as well.

"No, I haven't noticed. Has it really already been three hours?" asked Kumiko as she turned to look at the clock, "Yosh! You're right. Do you think he forgot about us?"

"It is a possibility," the stoic Uchiha said interrupting the two. "But I doubt it. He's supposed to be a jonin, an eite, something probably just came up before he could get to us."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," added Sakura weakly. _'But what if he really did forget about us?'_ thought Sakura. **_'Cha! That just means we get to have more time with Sasuke-kun.'_** Inner sakura replied.

"Still he could have sent a message to tell us he was coming in so late," replied Naruto. Bored, the redhead got up from his seat and walked towards the door to the class room. He had a mischievous air about him as he motioned Kumiko over to him as well. "Hey, Kumiko-chan come over here. I've got an idea," said Naruto before he and Kumiko began to make hushed whispers to each other.

A couple minutes later Kakashi was walking down the academy halls towards where his new team of genin was waiting for him. When he got to the door, however, he spotted a chalk eraser wedged into the opening. _'Ah the old chalk eraser gag. Brings back old memories, but they couldn't be a bit more creative? Oh whatever, might as well play along.'_ Though what Kakashi failed to realize was that the eraser was only meant to disguise the actual prank, and when he stepped through the door he also tripped a wire that dumped a bucket full of water all over him. The room was suddenly filled with laughter coming from the two redheads. Sasuke only looked on at the scene in curiosity and thought, _'And he's supposed to be a jonin?'_

Sakura though had a horrified expression on her face and quickly said, "I'm so sorry sensei. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen." Inner Sakura, however, had very different thoughts from her **_'Cha! That was great. Serves him right for making us wait here so long!"_**

"Team 7 I presume? I'm your new jonin instructor, and hmm, how should I put this? My first impression of you is… that I hate all of you, especially you two redheads," said Kakashi evenly. Before the genin could respond though, Kakashi continued, "Alright well let's get this underway, meet me on the rooftop for a team meeting. Ja ne." and he then promptly disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"See you guys up there," said Naruto before surprising his teammates when he too disappeared in the same manner as Kakashi. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the spot Naruto had just been at before he began making his way up to meet Kakashi. The girls were quick to follow as well and when they arrived the trio found Naruto and Kakashi casually sitting on the ground waiting for them.

"You guys sure took your time," droned Kakashi. "But now that you're all here we can finally start. I'd like you all to introduce yourselves. Tell us things like what your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams are."

"I'm not sure I understand sensei. Maybe you can start us off so we know what we're doing?" asked Sakura.

"Okay. My name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes are personal. Things I dislike, I think I'll tell you some other time. I have many hobbies. And as for my dream for the future… I've never thought about it," said Kakashi vaguely. Turning to Naruto he said, "How about you go next then."

"Um, well I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, meditating, my family, and my friends. I dislike anyone who bad mouths my Ka-chan. My hobbies are meditating and playing around with fuinjutsu. And my dream is… my dream is to make my parents proud and one day have a family all of my own."

"Good, Pinky you're up," Kakashi said motioning for Sakura to speak next.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. I like *giggles and glances at Sasuke*. My dislike is Ino-pig, and my hobby is… *giggles again*. My dream for the future is *giggles this time with a slight nose bleed*," said Sakura blushing profusely.

 _'A fangirl huh? I'll have to knock that out of her quick if I want her to survive in this world,'_ thought Kakashi.

"Ohh, my turn!" exclaimed the more hyperactive redhead. "My name is Kumiko Uzumaki. I like hanging out with friends and Hokage Oji-san. And I don't just like ramen, I love it! Especially Ichiraku ramen. My dislikes are the three minutes it takes to make cup ramen, and perverts." Somewhere in Hi no Kuni a peeping white haired sannin suddenly sneezed causing him to fall into the women's side of the hot spring where he was spying into. And as the occupants loomed over him, the pervert futilely whimpered, "Mercy." However, all of that was inconsequential to Kumiko, as she continued on with her introduction, "My hobbies include pulling pranks and eating ramen. My dream for the future is to be the first female Hokage and surpass all the other Hokages before me." Though off to the side she added, "That way the people of the village will finally acknowledge me." She had said it so quietly though that only Naruto, who sat next to her, heard her.

Kakashi then turned and looked at the last person on his team expectantly. Sasuke merely grunted in response and darkly said, "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I don't particularly like anything. And I dislike too many things to list." The boy then leaned forward and looked Kakashi in the eye and continued saying, "My ambition is to kill a certain someone. It is not a dream because I will make it a reality."

In response to the Uchiha's declaration, Kakashi took on a stern look and carefully analyzed Sasuke. _'Hokage-sama was right. The boy is indeed very unstable. Not to mention a flight risk,'_ thought the jonin. "Well that was cheery, but now we have to get down to business. Meet me at exactly 7am sharp at training ground 7 tomorrow. There we will be undergoing a survival test of sorts to see which of you are worthy to become genin," announced Kakashi.

"But Kakashi-sensei, we already passed our genin tests," reasoned Sakura.

"True, but really that test was only to get rid of the hopeless cases. And now that you have all passed it, it is up to me to decide whether I'll take you on as my students, send you back to the academy, or even kick you out of the shinobi program all together. It will all depend on how well you guys do tomorrow. That being said prepare yourselves as this test will be a lot harder than anything else you have done up until now. In fact, you all only have a 25% chance of succeeding. I suggest getting a good night's sleep and to not bother eating breakfast tomorrow as you will only throw it up. See you then." And with that Kakashi stood up and made his exit in yet another swirl of leaves.

* * *

AN:Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as always please review!


	9. Chapter 9: Teammates

**AN: Hello everyone! Sorry it's taken so long for this update. This particular chapter just didn't want to be written. It's also longer than most of my other chapters so I hope the length makes up for the delay. I also wanted to let you all know that updates will not be as frequent as before (used to be an update every other day) because I'll be heading back off to school in a few weeks. BUT I am working ahead on chapters so that I can periodically post until the next break comes, and depending on how many chapters I can crank out in preparation, the updates will be dispersed at a regular pace. With that said let's get on with the story!**

"Rasengan!" - Human speech

 **"Rasengan!"** \- Bijuu/Summons/Jutsu

 _'Rasengan!' -_ Human thoughts

 ** _'Rasengan!'_** \- Bijuu/Summons thoughts

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction, and no money is being made from it. I deny any claim to the Naruto world and characters in it, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Naruto sat alone in the middle of Konoha's 7th training ground. Next to him was a trio of training stumps and surrounding the grounds was a small forest. Additionally, at one end of the training field was a deep flowing river and at the other was an obsidian obelisk sculpted into the shape of a kunai. Naruto had gone and inspected the monument earlier and found what appeared to be names carved onto its surface. Currently, however, he was awaiting the arrival of his teammates and his sensei, Kakashi Hatake. They had been instructed by the man to be here at 7am sharp today, but when he arrived there wasn't a single soul in the area. Naruto was beginning to think that he was at the wrong place, and he was just about to get up to find someone who could point him in the right direction when a familiar face showed up and sat down next to him. "Oh, hello Naruto. I'm sorry I'm a little late. My mom was insisting I eat before I went out even though she knows I'm on a diet. Luckily Kakashi-sensei told us specifically not to eat breakfast so I got out of it and headed on over here. Where is everyone anyway?" asked the pinkete.

"Kumiko-chan, I know is going to be late. She's not much of a morning person. As for Sasuke… your guess is as good as mine," replied Naruto.

"What about sensei? Hasn't he showed up yet?"

Shaking his head Naruto said, "No, not yet. I've been here since half past six and no one has come by. I was actually beginning to think I was at the wrong place before you came."

"Weird," replied Sakura. "This is the right training ground. I'm sure of it. Do you think Kakashi-sensei is just running late again like yesterday?"

"Maybe," responded Naruto. Soon after that a short awkward silence came about as neither Naruto nor Sakura knew what to say. They were saved from their predicament, however, when Sasuke joined them, and an hour after him Kumiko as well. "So…" Naruto began once the whole team had gathered. "Since it doesn't look like Kakashi-sensei will be arriving anytime soon, who's up for some breakfast?" the redhead asked getting disbelieving looks from his teammates.

"Don't be such a baka Naruto. Kakashi-sensei specifically told us not to eat breakfast this morning. And after that prank you and Kumiko pulled on him yesterday, I don't want to get further on his bad side by disobeying orders," answered Sakura.

"He did tell us not to Naruto. What do you think Sasuke?" Kumiko asked turning to the boy in question.

Sasuke grunted at her but nonetheless answered, "I have to agree with Sakura. It'd be stupid to disobey a direct order, and sensei did give us a reason as to why we shouldn't eat."

"Yeah, he said that we'd only throw it back up, but I say we eat anyway because if the training is going to be as hard as he said it was going to be, then we'll need the energy from a good breakfast to complete this test," countered Naruto. However, seeing that they weren't entirely convinced yet Naruto continued and said, "Besides Kakashi-sensei didn't technically order us not to eat. All he did was suggest that we don't. So, I think it'd be okay to eat even a little bit of food."

Slowly the other genin nodded in agreement and took seats on the ground next to Naruto. "Okay so where did you guys want to eat? And how are we going to do this? I mean we can't all leave or else we might miss Kakashi-sensei and he'll fail us for not showing up," inquired Kumiko.

"We won't have to go anywhere. I packed breakfast for all of us since I figured none of you would have eaten at home," replied Naruto. He then placed his right hand on his left sleeve and quickly unsealed four slim scrolls. Handing one to each of them Naruto said, "Breakfast is served."

His teammates merely gave the redhead a deadpan look before Sasuke decided to say what was on each of their minds. "You can't be serious. These are scrolls not food."

Naruto just looked at them all in confusion, and then he broke out into laughter after realizing they didn't know what storage scrolls were and thought that the scrolls were the breakfast he had in mind. "Hahaha, you guys are something else. Those scrolls aren't breakfast. This is," the redhead said while simultaneously opening his own scroll and unsealing a steaming bowl of miso soup, a cut of grilled fish and some white rice topped with natto beans. Off to the side of the ensemble was a pair of chopsticks and a small container full of water. The sudden appearance of the meal drew amazed gasps from Naruto's teammates and the redhead smiled proudly at their reactions before explaining, "These scrolls are storage scrolls. I made them using a fuinjutsu seal my Ka-chan taught me as a kid. You can store virtually anything into these things and when you do it's like time stops for the object being stored. For example, I put this little breakfast together hours ago and sealed it, and when I unsealed it just now the food is still as fresh as it was this morning. Go ahead, each of the scrolls I gave you also has the same meal in it. All you have to do is open the scroll and channel your chakra into the ring of sealing kanji inside." Kumiko and Sasuke quickly did as Naruto instructed and unsealed their own breakfasts. Sakura on the other hand hesitated at first, but eventually gave in when her stomach began rumbling in hunger. Seeing the trio start digging into their meals Naruto said, "I hope you all like it. It isn't a lot but the meal should be enough to get us through whatever test Kakashi-sensei has in store for us," before he dug in as well.

Meanwhile Kakashi watched the group of genin from afar. He was in a crouched position on a tree branch just outside the clearing where they were at, and as he watched them a small smile could be seen through his mask. _'They may just have what it takes to pass after all,'_ Kakashi thought to himself. And with that he decided to wait and let them finish their meals before making his presence known. Kakashi didn't have to wait long and when the group finished he disappeared in a puff of smoke only to reappear in front of the shocked genin. "What do we have here? It seems you all decided to forego my warning and have breakfast, and right in front of me no less. Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?" asked Kakashi with mock anger.

"It-it was Naru-" started Sakura before Kumiko interrupted her and said, "It was a team decision sensei. Naruto was kind enough to bring us breakfast, and we reasoned that we'd need the energy for the test you had planned. We don't regret it, so if you're going to punish us do it now." The redhead then proceeded to stare off with Kakashi boldly not once backing down.

Instead of reprimanding the four of them though, Kakashi broke out into an approving smile and said, "Good, you were all able to see past that little test I had given you yesterday."

"Test?" all four genin chorused.

"Yup, when I told you not to eat breakfast it was simply a test to see how good your judgement is, because following orders is all well and good, but many times when out on missions you will be faced with situations that you either have to choose between what is right and what your superiors tell you to do or you may have to operate with a lack of instruction in which case you will all have to be able to think for yourselves and on your feet," explained Kakashi.

"So, does this mean we passed the test, and that you won't send us back to the academy sensei?" asked Kumiko.

Her question elicited a laugh from Kakashi and he said, "No Kumiko, that was only a warm up. The test that will decide who goes back to the academy and who remains genin is much more difficult. Speaking of which we should get started." The jonin then walked several steps away from the group so that he was facing his students from across the field. "The rules are simple. You must get one of these bells by any means necessary," said Kakashi while holding up a pair of bells tied to string. Before Naruto or anyone else could respond though, Kakashi also took out a red timer and continued, "And you must do so before this timer finishes counting down. Failure to obtain a bell in under the given time constraint will result in your getting sent back to the academy. Any questions?"

At that Sakura piped up and asked, "Uh sensei, there's only two bells… but there's four of us. So how are we all supposed to get a bell?"

"Simple Sakura, you don't. There is a reason why there are only two bells. It's because I don't have time to teach all four of you and two students will be more much more manageable," replied Kakashi.

This bit of news got varied reactions amongst the group. Sasuke narrowed his eyes even more determined now to get a bell. Naruto frowned as something about the test irked him. Kumiko looked torn and worried as she gazed between her teammates and the pair of bells Kakashi was holding up. _'But these are my friends. How can I knowingly try to take a bell over them? This test is just plain cruel,'_ the redhead thought bitterly. Sakura, though, looked the most worried out of the four. She knew for a fact that she wasn't as physically strong as her other teammates, but she soon regained her composure, putting on a brave and determined face.

Having explained the rules, Kakashi wasted not a moment longer and promptly began the exercise. "Alright, you all have until noon before this timer goes off. Good luck, now scatter!" At that the genin swiftly leaped away from the clearing they were in and hid themselves around the training ground. _'They've hidden themselves well,'_ thought Kakashi as he reached into his supply pouch and took out a little orange book. _'Hmm, but if they plan on staying hidden all day then I might as well enjoy a chapter or two of Icha Icha.'_ However, before Kakashi could get very far into it several shuriken came flying out of the trees at him. The shuriken hit their mark but as soon as they did, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke and in his place was a log.

 _'Shit, a_ _ **kawarimi.**_ _And now he knows my position too,'_ cursed Sasuke internally. Suddenly Kakashi appeared in front of the Uchiha and lazily attempted a leg sweep only to miss when Sasuke performed a back flip dodging his attack. The move forced him out from under the cover of the trees though, and now Sasuke stood exposed in the middle of the clearing.

"You should know that normal attacks like that won't work on me. You'll have to try harder if you want a bell Sasuke," droned Kakshi as he turned the page of his book.

Growling at the dismissive way Kakshi was regarding him Sasuke leaped at the masked jonin and took him head on in a taijutsu bout. Kakashi was able to react to the Uchiha's strikes, but - due to his self imposed handicap - was forced to be solely on the defensive. Sasuke took full advantage of this and increased the ferocity of his attack going in for strike after strike to the point that whenever Kakashi would block instead of breaking away and attacking from another angle Sasuke would use a free limb to continue his barrage on the jonin. Eventually this strategy enabled Sasuke to get closer than Kakashi would have liked, and the boy was even able to lightly touch the bells hanging off Kakashi's waist. Kakashi would have none of it though, and swiftly pushed the Uchiha off of him before the boy could take a bell. _'That was close. Looks like I won't be able to read Icha Icha after all,'_ thought Kakashi as he put away his book. "I'll admit your more talented than most, but if you really want a bell you'll have to do better than that. Come at me with the intent to kill, and maybe you'll just get a bell," taunted the man.

This had the desired effect on Sasuke as he was further frustrated by the jonin. _'Intent to kill? Fine. Have it your way,'_ thought Sasuke heatedly as he performed a short series of hand seals before putting his fingers to his lips and blowing out a body sized ball of fire. **"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)!"**

 _'What?!'_ thought a wide eyed Kakashi. _'Impossible a genin can't perform that jutsu. Takes too much chakra.'_ Nevertheless, the man was still quickly enveloped by the flaming fireball and after making contact Sasuke cut off his jutsu to inspect its results. What he found shocked him as on the ground were the burnt remains of yet another log Kakashi had used for a substitution.

 _'Damn it. He got away,'_ the Uchiha thought. Taking a look around Sasuke tried to see where Kakashi could have gone. _'Above? No. Behind? No. Well then, where is he?'_

Suddenly a hand came out of the ground underneath Sasuke, grabbed his ankle and pulled the genin neck deep into the ground. Kakashi then stepped out of his hiding spot and said, "How about bellow." He was quickly forced away from Sasuke, however, when several kunai flew towards his head. Kakashi dodged easily enough and turned to a set of bushes where the kunai had originated from. The shrubbery was soon parted and out came Sakura running straight for Kakashi.

"Get away from him. Leave Sasuke-kun alone!" yelled the pinkete. Kakashi in response shunshined away from the buried Uchiha and reappeared directly behind Sakura while holding forward a handseal. The action caused Sakura to scream out in horror and collapse onto the ground.

 _'That was a fairly low level genjutsu I put on her, but she still couldn't break it? I thought her file said she excelled in both genjutsu and genjutsu dispersion?'_ thought Kakashi. He shook his head in disappointment, took Sakura in his arms and laid her gently down at the base of a tree. "That's two down, and two to go," Kakashi said to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile hidden in the shadows of the forest Naruto was busy watching and analyzing how Kakashi dealt with his two teammates. _'It doesn't make any sense. Iruka-sensei said that all Konoha squads run under a four man system. Why then would Kakashi only take two of us as students? I could understand kicking one out since our squad has an extra person on it, but he isn't doing that. He's effectively turning us into a three man squad instead of four, and that's just the beginning of it. He's a jonin, a true elite. There's no way we can win against him even if we were working together… working together! That's it! It's the only way any of us will even have a chance of getting those bells. What we do with the bells after can wait until we get them off sensei in the first place. I've got to find Kumiko and tell her before-'_ his thoughts were interrupted, however, when the person he was just thinking about suddenly stepped out of her cover and openly challenged Kakashi in the clearing.

"It's your turn now is it Kumiko?" asked Kakashi. Not getting a response from the girl Kakashi continued and said, "You know you're better off just giving up. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura were able to do anything what makes you think you've got a chance?"

"Don't tell me to give up, because no matter what I won't ever give up. Do you hear me sensei!" exclaimed Kumiko. **"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"** suddenly the entire field was filled with Kumiko's shadow clones, and they all proceeded to jump at Kakashi intending to overwhelm him with numbers and get the bells. They never got close though, as Kakashi was able to easily move around Kumiko's clones and dispel them with well placed hits. Eventually, it came to the point where Kumiko was only wasting chakra as no matter how many clones she sent at him, the outcome was always the same. Gritting in frustration she made one last clone and had it throw several shuriken at Kakashi. The redhead then performed a series of handseals and cried out, **"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"** causing the thrown shuriken to multiply dozens of times over.

Kakashi countered by smashing a smoke pellet onto the ground and **kawariming** with one of Kumiko's remaining shadow clones. Once the smoke cleared, Kakashi was nowhere to be found, and Kumiko suddenly had a sense of déjà vu when a hand popped out of the ground reaching for her ankle. Having seen it already done to Sasuke though, she was able to kick the offending arm away and faced Kakashi as he dug himself out of the ground. But before she could move to attack him, another Kakashi appeared behind her and thrust his middle and index fingers up Kumiko's bottom while saying, "Never let your opponent get behind you. **Ninpo: Sennen Goroshi (Ninja Art: One Thousand Years of** **Death)!** "The attack sent Kumiko flying with a pained/furious expression on her face only to be caught by Naruto before she hit the ground. He then dropped a smoke bomb and disappeared into the woods with Kumiko in tow. Turning around Kakashi found that the redhead had also apparently freed Sasuke and Saukra. _'He must have taken them when I was busy with Kumiko. I wonder… has he figured it out already?'_ he thought.

* * *

[With Naruto]

"Put me down Naruto, I owe that pervert of a sensei a beat down for sticking his fingers up my ass!" cried Kumiko indignantly.

Naruto did as she asked and replied, "Calm down Kumiko. You can't win on your own. None of us can; he's simply too good. All four of us need to work together if we want any chance at getting a bell."

Sighing Kumiko said, "I'm all for working together Naruto, but there's only two bells how are we supposed to work together when we're competing against one another?"

"That's the thing Kumiko-chan, I don't think we really are competing against each other. I mean think about it. Why would sensei only take two of us as his team? Konoha always operates in four man cells. Our team is just the exception, but even then, we have more than what's needed not less. It doesn't make any sense to only take two students," Naruto reasoned. "I've ready talked to Sasuke and Sakura about teaming up while you were busy with Kakashi-sensei," mentioned Naruto.

"And? What did they say?" asked Kumiko.

At that Naruto frowned as he recalled what the other two's answers were.

[Flashback]

 _Naruto stealthily walked up to Sasuke with a kunai drawn. The Uchiha upon seeing him asked with trepidation, "Naruto, what are you doing with that kunai?" He then leaned his head back and began struggling as Naruto neared and raised the knife up above his head._ 'He's gonna kill me!' _thought a fearful Sasuke, and he closed his eyes in the final moments before Naruto brought the knife down to bear on him. However, instead of feeling pain at having his head cut open, Sasuke felt the dirt around him loosen as Naruto dug around and pulled him out of the ground. Opening his eyes, the Uchiha found Naruto moving toward Sakura next and assessing what had happened to the girl._

 _"Listen Sasuke, there's something fishy about this test. Kakashi-sensei is just too strong for any of us to defeat, on our own._ _We need to team up to get those bells," whispered Naruto quietly trying not to alert Kakashi._

 _"Hn, I don't need anyone's help. All you three will do is get in my way and slow me down," responded Sasuke with a scoff._

 _Offended that Sasuke thought so low of him Naruto heatedly replied, "Really Sasuke? Because you already took him on single handedly, and look where that landed you. Buried up to your neck in the ground. Need I remind you that I had to save your arrogant ass."_

 _Sasuke growled lowly at the redhead before replying, "Next time it'll be different. I already got close to the bells once without your help, and I can do it again." With that said, the boy left Naruto intent on getting a bell on his own._

 _Naruto frowned at his teammate, but quickly put Sasuke out of his mind and focused on Sakura._ 'Looks like sensei put her under a genjutsu,' _thought Naruto. "Kai," he said while channeling chakra to the pinkete dispelling the genjutsu put over her._

 _Coming to, Sakura gasped deeply and frantically looked across the training ground. "Sasuke-kun, oh kami. He killed him Naruto. He killed him," cried Sakura._

 _"Calm down Sakura. What are you talking about anyway? No one killed anybody," placated Naruto._

 _"Yes, they did. I saw it. Sasuke-kun had all these kunai stabbed into his body, and Kakashi-sensei was the one who did it to him," replied Sakura._

 _"That was only a genjutsu sensei put on you Sakura. Sasuke is perfectly fine; I was just talking to him a second ago," said Naruto trying to calm her down. "But listen I need you to concentrate okay Sakura? I need your help to get those bells from Kakashi-sensei."_

 _"What no way. I don't want to pass this test with you. I want to pass it with Sasuke-kun. That way we can be a team together and there'll be no one else to distract us from falling in love!" replied Sakura. "So, I'm sorry Naruto, but you can always try again next year." With that the girl too took off leaving Naruto alone in the clearing._

[Flashback end]

"So basically, they both said no," Kumiko summarized bluntly. She got a nod from Naruto and sighed. "Well you at least have me on your team Naruto."

"Thanks Kumiko-chan," said Naruto, when suddenly a kunai with an explosive tag tied to it landed in between them forcing the two to jump away in separate directions to avoid the blast. "What the hell; are you trying to kill us sensei?!" shouted Naruto.

Kakashi was standing between the two redheads and twirled two more kunai wrapped in explosive tags. "Mah mah, you worry too much Naruto. Besides I did say it was a survival test, so… survive," he replied dismissively before once again throwing an explosive tag wrapped kunai at both Kumiko and Naruto. Kumiko jumped away a second time to avoid the blast, but Naruto on the other hand held his ground and threw his own kunai at Kakashi's clashing with it midair and deflecting it away from him. The redhead then placed his hands into a cross shaped seal and called out, **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Two Narutos suddenly appeared out of thin air next to him. Together the three crouched down and placed their hands flat on the ground while chorusing, **"Hijutsu: Kongō Fusa (Secret Art: Adamantine Sealing Chains)!"** Immediately several golden chakra chains coursed through the ground from their hands towards Kakashi. Once the chains neared the man, they suddenly erupted from the ground and proceeded to lunge at him.

Kakashi hadn't expected the attack and was just barely able to avoid it by jumping backwards. Looking down at his flack jacket Kakashi found a large diagonal gash the chains had made running across from his right hip to left shoulder. _'I can't believe it. Naruto knows how to use chakra chains. It's just like how Minato-sensei's wife used to use them. If anything, Naruto's chains are a bit faster, and with his clones I have to deal with even more than usual. How does he even know how to make Kage Bunshin anyway? Kumiko, I heard was taught it by the Hokage, but Naruto?'_ He wasn't allowed to think on it any further, however, as Naruto sent his chains back at Kakashi once more forcing the jonin to dodge or else be impaled by the sharp tipped chains.

Kumiko looked on at Naruto from her end of the field with astonishment before she joined him in his attack. "Time for some payback Kakashi-sensei!" the girl called out and promptly began peppering Kakashi with shuriken and kunai. Together she and Naruto were able to keep Kakashi at a distance and eventually corral him into the middle of the clearing. Once there Naruto nodded towards Kumiko and she then began doubling the amount of projectiles she was throwing at Kakashi.

 _'They're getting sloppy,'_ Kakashi noted as he witnessed several of Kumiko's throws miss him wide. He couldn't capitalize on it though, as Naruto's chains kept trying to grab onto his limbs and impale him. The barrage continued on and as it did the area around Kakashi started to get littered with more and more weaponry. So much so that Kakashi had to watch where he stepped to avoid injuring his feet. It was then that Kumiko yelled out, "Now!", and without any further warning the kunai around Kakashi transformed and revealed themselves to be solid copies of Kumiko. The clones quickly grabbed onto Kakashi only to be dispelled by him afterwards, but they were never meant to hold him down in the first place. Their sole purpose was to catch the man off guard and slow him down enough for Naruto's chakra chains to get a solid hold over him which they were able to do, and soon the jonin found himself wrapped in a mass of chains that no matter how hard he struggled against wouldn't budge. The chains had wrapped themselves around Kakashi's arms and torso before continuing to his neck while even more bound his legs together. His bonds left Kakashi unable to stand and he unceremoniously fell face first onto the ground. Looking up he saw a smirking pair of redheads walking towards him, and they were just about to reach for the pair of bells that hung at his hips when Kakashi suddenly disappeared as if he wasn't even there. _'Genjutsu!'_ was the thought that ran through Naruto's mind before he let out a pulse of chakra dispelling the illusion. Looking around he found himself surrounded by multiple shuriken, and in front of him was a furious Kumiko weakly struggling against chains that led back to him. "Kumiko-chan!" exclaimed Naruto. He immediately retracted the chains back and assessed her vitals. Her pulse was slow, her skin an angry red and around her arms and neck were visible bruises from Naruto's chains. _'Shit, she's in a genjutsu of her own,_ ' thought the boy taking note of her glazed over eyes. He quickly moved to dispel it, but before he could Kakashi appeared in front of him and delivered a hard kick to his face sending the redhead skidding back several feet. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth Naruto stood and faced Kakashi. The man had gently picked up the girl and casually pointed to something behind Naruto. The genin narrowed his eyes at the simple trick Kakashi was trying to pull by making him look behind him. He was just about to call Kakashi out on it, when a hand clamped down on his shoulder and tossed him backwards hard. He landed far away from his assailant and when Naruto stood up once more he found himself staring at two Kakashis. One carried Kumiko and took her down to the opposite end of the clearing while the second Kakashi addressed Naruto, "That was good teamwork you two showed back there. Had you only paid closer attention to your surroundings I dare say you would have gotten the bells. I do have to wonder though, what ever happened to Sasuke and Sakura?"

"I tried to get them to help, but they didn't feel like joining," was the response he received from Naruto.

"I see. That's a shame," said Kakashi. "So, what'll you do now? If the others won't help and with Kumiko out of the picture you don't stand much of chance at getting a bell."

"Maybe, but I don't give up so easily," stated Naruto while thinking, _'He doesn't know what I'm fully capable of yet. Because of that he'll probably underestimate me. I can use that, but I'll need to move fast and catch him by surprise if I want any chance of getting a bell.'_ With that in mind he drew his katana and rushed at Kakashi channeling chakra to his legs to propel him forward. The jonin dodged Naruto's attack but was swiftly put on the defensive as Naruto followed through with strike after strike. The boy flowed seamlessly into a sort of dangerous dance that forced Kakashi back, but Kakashi wasn't a jonin for nothing, and he was able to evade Naruto's blade if just barely. This lasted for several minutes before Kakashi tired of dodging and decided to put a stop to Naruto's relentless assault. Taking a kunai in each hand Kakashi intercepted Naruto's katana in a cross block fashion. He had hoped that the maneuver would stop Naruto from any further swordplay, but Naruto was having none of it and upon being caught, channeled chakra through his blade increasing its cutting power and slicing right through Kakashi's kunai.

Surprised by what Naruto did, Kakashi let go of the kunai, flipped back and assessed the boy from a distance, _'That looked like_ _ **Hien (Flying Swallow)**_ _. But that's an advance chakra flow technique how does Naruto know how to perform it?'_ The jonin wasn't given much time to ponder over this, however, as Naruto had taken advantage of Kakashi's surprise and launched a crescent shaped blade of chakra straight at Kakashi. Wide eyed at seeing what the redhead had done, Kakashi was only barely able to avoid the attack by jumping to the side and performing a quick **kawarimi**.

 _'I almost had him that time. I just need to be a little faster,'_ thought Naruto as he sheathed his katana and placed his hands into a hand seal. **"Fuin Kai (Seal Release)!"** the boy yelled, and immediately a crisscrossed pattern of seals appeared all over the his body and receded underneath his clothes. With his gravity and resistance seals gone, Naruto redrew his blade and took off again after Kakashi this time far faster than before. Kakashi had nothing to block with and was forced to dodge Naruto's strikes. Naruto, however, worked the battlefield in such a way as to corner Kakashi between him and a large tree at the edge of the forest. And when Naruto went in once more for the bells, Kakashi wasn't able to avoid him due to being boxed in on all sides.

Naruto was just about to pin Kakashi to the tree with his blade and take the bells, when Kakashi suddenly called out, **"Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall)!"** and placed his hands palms down on the ground. The jutsu erected a wide wall of earth which Naruto's blade ended up lodging itself into. _'Kami, that was close,'_ thought Kakashi seeing the tip of Naruto's blade jut out on his side of the barrier.

The brief respite was all Kakashi received, however, as a duo of Naruto clones moved around the wall and engaged Kakashi from both sides with their katanas. A third clone stood behind the wall and channeled his chakra to his arms manifesting a pair of chakra chains. Only instead of being a gold color these chains were more of a dark orange. They were heavier and denser than Naruto's previous chains, yet they also moved far faster than normal. **"Kongo Fusa: Rensahannou (Adamantine Chains: Chain Reaction)!"** The chains snaked their way towards Kakashi's wall and punched through to where the jonin was battling Naruto's clones before the Naruto clone controlling them swung the chains up and forcefully brought them down creating a wave. Upon doing so the chains surged forward and separated into individual links that went flying towards Kakashi in all directions. "KATSU!" the clone exclaimed putting his right hand into a half ram seal. This caused the chain links to glow brightly and sealing kanji similar to ones found on explosive tags to appear on them before the links proceeded to explode. Kakashi was tossed back and forth as explosion after explosion erupted next to him. They didn't cover a large area individually, but together the blasts were both loud and highly concentrated. The detonations were also indiscriminate and took out the pair of Naruto's shadow clones with them. When the attack finished Kakashi was left lying on the ground face up with the top part of his gravity defying hair singed and his clothes covered in burn marks. The earth wall he had erected prior to the attack was nowhere to be seen and all that remained was a panting kage bunshin of Naruto who promptly dispelled as the technique had taken quite a bit of chakra.

"Ugh…" groaned Kakashi before he slowly reverted to mud.

 _'What? All this time and it was a mud clone?!'_ thought a surprised Naruto from a tree branch he had hidden in. _'Then where's the real Kakashi?'_

* * *

[Meanwhile with Kumiko]

Kumiko woke up as the genjutsu she was under faded, but when she came to, she found herself hanging upside down from a tree. Her hands were bound tightly while a length of rope extended from the branch she was attached to and wrapped around her ankles. Looking around Kumiko could see a strange sculpture near her made out of black stone with names carved onto its surface and right next to it stood Kakashi with his back turned to Kumiko. He seemed to be gazing intently at the monument, and Kumiko took that as her chance to free herself from the ropes. Utilizing the rope escape jutsu taught at the academy, Kumiko was able to free herself in no time, but before she could make a move against Kakashi, the jonin turned around grabbed Kumiko by her neck pinning her against the tree. Kumiko in return lashed out with a kick towards her teacher's groin eliciting a pained grunt from Kakashi and causing him to lose his grip on her. Kumiko then proceeded to jump backwards to put some distance between herself and Kakashi when the man gritted out, "That was a low blow Kumiko."

"Just consider us even for what you did to my arse earlier," replied Kumiko, and as she said this, Kumiko took out a pair of flash bombs and tossed them at Kakashi. The bombs unleashed a blinding white light in the clearing and when Kakashi regained his vision Kumiko was nowhere to be found.

 _'Where did she go…'_ thought Kakashi. Drawing a kunai and preparing himself for Kumiko's eventual attack Kakashi began to stalk the grounds in search of the girl when he spotted a figure emerge from the tree line sprinting to the other side of the field. _'She's trying to regroup with Naruto.'_ Kakashi wasn't going to let that happen though. So he took out a trio of shuriken that had ninja wire attached to them and then threw the projectiles at arching angles and when they passed Kumiko, pulled back on the strings causing the three shuriken to wrap the girl in the wires. However, after being captured yet again, Kumiko smirked at Kakashi and reverted into lightning shocking the jonin who was still holding onto the wires. ' _Shit a_ _ **Raibunshin (Lightning Clone)**_ _. I didn't realize she knew that jutsu as well…'_ thought a pained Kakashi. With him incapacitated the real Kumiko confidently revealed herself intending to take the bells from Kakashi. But, before she could do so, Naruto appeared beside the jonin and placed a hand onto Kakashi's chest causing a small spiral shaped seal to appear. "Give up sensei. That's an Uzumaki suppressor seal. You won't be able to access your chakra as long as you have it on. It's over," said Naruto who materialized chains and had them restrain Kakashi as an added precaution.

 _'I can't believe it. Done in by genin,'_ thought Kakashi. _'The guys at the jonin lounge won't ever let me live this down.'_

"Great timing Naruto. Show up after I do all the work," said Kumiko as she joined Naruto and the restrained Kakashi.

"Hey, I had my hands full dealing with sensei's clone. Besides, better late than, never right?" defended Naruto.

Smiling, Kumiko replied, "Whatever helps you sleep at night. Now let's see where are those bells? Ah, here we go. One for you and one for me." Once the bells were in their possession, Naruto promptly released his chains and allowed Kakashi to stand up on his own.

Suddenly, a loud ring was heard throughout the clearing. "It seems that times up and you two have successfully taken the bells. Congratulations," said Kakashi. But before either Kumiko or Naruto could respond, Sasuke and Sakura came out of the woods and joined them, one looking dejected and the other with a mixture of shame and frustration.

Kumiko's heart went out to the two seeing the state they were in. She wasn't very close to Sakura and knew Sasuke only in passing, but nonetheless, Kumiko considered them friends. Kumiko didn't have many of those and so what few she did have she cared for deeply, "I… I thank you Kakashi-sensei, but I can't take this bell, not if it means Sakura and Sasuke will fail. We're supposed to be a team, and whether we succeed or fail we do so as a team. All four of us."

Her statement shocked not only Sasuke and Sakura, but also Naruto. Kakashi on the other hand looked impassive as ever, but underneath his mask the man was very pleased with the girl. Standing up from the ground Kakashi turned to Naruto and asked, "And what about you Naruto, do you agree with Kumiko?"

All eyes turned to the boy in question, and he took a moment to ponder about what Kumiko had said before saying, "I too can't accept this sensei. Kumiko's right, we are a team. But that being said, I don't believe we should all fail this test. At least some of us should go on, so… the question is who goes and who stays?"

"Naruto! How can you say that? How can you be so selfish?" exclaimed Kumiko. Meanwhile Kakashi stayed silent and merely observed while the four of them worked things out amongst themselves.

"I'm only saying that it wouldn't be fair to send all of ourselves back to the academy when two could go on as a real ninja team. I've heard all of your dreams and each one of you will be one step closer to them if you're trained by Kakashi-sensei," reasoned Naruto. "Even you Sakura, as I doubt you can be acknowledged by who you seek without the strength to prove yourself to him, whoever he may be." Kumiko averted her eyes from Naruto trying to ignore his reasoning despite knowing deep down that he was right, having Kakashi train her would be a step closer to Hokage. Naruto wouldn't let her tune him out, though, and continued on saying, "And I'm not being selfish, Kumiko. I never said that I wanted to keep this bell. No, on the contrary, I want to give it to one of you three."

This caused Kumiko to look back at him in surprise, and she replied, "But you just said that being trained by sensei would be a step closer to our dreams… then why would you give that up?"

"She's right Naruto. You're not making any sense," added Sakura.

"I said that all _your_ dreams need Kakashi-sensei's help, but I as for me, my own aspirations can wait another year. So, I would like to give my bell to either Sasuke or Sakura. Which of you is willing to take it?" asked Naruto.

Sakura looked torn. She didn't want to fail this test and be sent back to the academy, but she also couldn't bring herself to take the bell from Sasuke either. Sasuke too was caught in an internal debate of whether or not to take the bell. He knew how much Kakashi's tutelage would help him defeat his brother, but at the same time his Uchiha pride wouldn't allow him to accept Naruto's offer. In the end both were saved from making a decision when Kumiko said, "Neither of you will need to choose. You won't have to because I too will give you guys my bell."

Hearing that Kumiko was also willing to give up her spot on the team, snapped Sakura out of her thoughts, and with her decision made she said, "No. Both of you keep your bells. I didn't earn it, but you two did. You guys were the ones who defeated sensei while I on the other hand refused to help when Naruto asked to work together."

"As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. You guys deserve to go on more than us, so we should be the ones to be sacrificed and sent back to the academy. Not you," Sasuke added only to be rebuffed by Naruto and Kumiko who persisted that the Sasuke and Sakura both take a bell each. The exchange continued on after that with each of the genin offering the bells to the others and refusing offers right back.

Off to the side, Kakashi was very pleased to hear all of this, and interrupted the four mid conversation. "Enough. Since the four of you cannot decide who will take a bell and who will not, I have no choice but to…. Pass all of you," he said beginning with a serious tone and ending with an eye smile.

"What?!" exclaimed all four of the genin.

"But why? Not that I'm complaining sensei, but I thought we needed a bell to pass," questioned Sakura.

Instead of answering her right away Kakashi walked up to the kunai shaped obelisk Kumiko saw earlier and said, "This is the Konohagakure Memorial Stone. Engraved on it are the names of every Leaf shinobi that has given their life for the village during combat. Every name was once a friend, a lover, a father, a mother, brother, or sister to someone in this village. They each had dreams of their own just like the four of you, and as true shinobi they chose to risk those dreams for Konoha. That is why I gave you this test. You see it was never about the bells. The bells only ever represented a mission. The real test was to see if all of you could put aside your differences and work together as a team despite knowing the risk that you may fail in the process because just like on a real mission a shinobi must be willing to give their all, including their life, for both their comrades and in order to accomplish the objective. You all showcased this when none of you were willing to take a bell, and instead all of you were ready to sacrifice yourselves for the others. And even though only Naruto and Kumiko were able to truly work together, Sasuke and Sakura you both pass as well because the two of you declined Naruto and Kumiko's offers, deciding instead to put them first over yourselves. Had you accepted the bells then I would have been forced to fail all of you and send Naruto and Kumiko back to the academy while kicking the two of you (Sasuke and Sakura) out of the shinobi program altogether for such an atrocious performance. That is how important teamwork is to both myself and Konoha as a whole." Pausing for a moment to let it all sink in, Kakashi waited several moments before continuing, "So with that said, I would like to congratulate you all on a job well done, and I am now happy to say that you're all officially genin. We will meet here tomorrow morning for our first official mission together. Dismissed."

At that Kumiko and Sakura both started jumping and shouting for joy at passing while Naruto laughed softly at them from the side and even Sasuke gave a small smirk at it all. Things were looking good for them all, but as they turned to leave Kakashi called out to one of them. "Naruto, before you go I need you to take this suppressor seal off of me."

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that," replied Naruto sheepishly. "Go on ahead Kumiko. I'll catch up with you later this shouldn't take too long."

"Okay, see you back at the apartments," Kumiko said back.

Walking over to Kakashi Naruto placed his palm over the seal he had placed on his chest and said, " **Fuin Kai** **(Seal Release)** " The spiral seal then slowly faded away and Naruto said, "It's done sensei."

"Thank you Naruto," said Kakashi with a sigh of relief at being able to access his chakra once more. "You did well today. With both working with your teammates and in fighting against me. I'd be remiss though to not ask how you know ninjutsu, seeing as I was told you came from Tetsu no Kuni which has no shinobi only samurai."

"My Ka-chan used to be a shinobi from Uzu, before they fell. She taught me everything I know about the ninja arts including fuinjutsu," answered Naruto.

 _'That explains his use of_ _ **Kage Bunshin**_ _. The Leaf and the Uzumaki were always close and it wouldn't surprise me if the two shared jutsu with one another before the latter's demise. And in fact, if memory serves right, the Konoha barrier jutsu is evidence of much as it was a gift from the Uzumaki way back during the Shodaime's time.'_ thought Kakashi. "And where is your mother now? If she has skills as a kunoichi than I'm sure there will be a place for her among the leaf."

"I'm afraid she isn't with me sensei… she died a few months ago. I buried her myself in the place of our ancestors," replied Naruto quietly.

"I understand Naruto. You needn't tell me more."

"Have you ever lost a loved one before sensei?"

At Naruto's question Kakashi gave the memorial stone a brief glance and succinctly replied, "Yes," all the while the faces of his sensei, his teammates, his father, and so many others flashed through his mind.

Naruto caught his gaze over at the monument, however, and approaching the stone he said, "Their name is on here isn't it sensei. He or she must have been a great person to be remembered on something like this."

"Yes, they were, each and every one of them. I've lost many of my dearest over the years, and some were due to my own mistakes at undervaluing them. That's the reason I decided to give you all the bell test today you know. So that you all would know the importance of each other and not take the team for granted."

Noting the subtle way Kakashi was trying to change the topic Naruto complied as he knew how hard it could be to talk about the death of loved ones. "Speaking of the test, you were taking it easy on us using mostly non-lethals weren't you sensei?" asked Naruto getting a nod from Kakashi.

"Even the explosive tags I used on you, and Kumiko earlier were low grade and would have at the most given you two slight concussions," admitted Kakashi. "Listen, I have to go and report back to the Hokage so I'll take my leave." In response, Naruto nodded back at him and watched as his sensei disappeared in a swirl of leaves. He on the other hand stayed a while longer just reading through the names on the Memorial Stone. There were so many, and Naruto trembled remembering what Kakashi had said about them earlier. _"Every name was once a friend, a lover, a father, a mother, brother, sister to someone in this village. They each had dreams of their own just like the four of you…"_

 _'There are so many of them. So many names etched onto this, and every single one is as dear to someone in this village as Ka-chan was to me. And all of them are dead just like her, only they didn't die near their home, or even with any grace. No, they were ended violently out there in the world on a battlefield most times far from their loved ones. Why does it have to be this way?'_ Naruto asked himself. After a while he still couldn't come up with an answer so he to put it out of his thoughts for now and bowed lowly to the monument before taking off back to his home with a thoughtful look on his face.

* * *

 **AN: So ends another installment of Iron Whirlpools. There are some points I'd like to clarify though since it wasn't really explained in the chapter.**

 **1) Yes, Kumiko was trained by Hiruzen if just a little bit. Back in the 2nd or 3rd chapter I mentioned that Kumiko was taken under the care of the shinobi council. This included training her in several more advanced techniques. Such as the Kage Bunshin and Raibunshin. After all what use is an untrained jinchuriki?**

 **2) Some people asked if Sakura is such a fangirl because she'll be killed off. Let me just say that, No. She will not be killed off. I've also tried to tone down how much she's obsessed with Sasuke in this chapter. So I hope I did her character some justice this time around.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always please leave a review!**


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